Ennis & Beyond (Co. Clare)
South of Ennis
The West County Hotel on the outskirts of Ennis plays an important social role.
Newhall Estate
Newhall Estate surrounds an impressive mansion, Newhall House, the older part of which is supposed to have been constructed with stones from Killone Castle, now just a ruined stump on a nearby eminence; the rest dates from 1764, built by Charles MacDonnell MP with a facade probably designed by Francis Bindon. This was long the home of a branch of the O’Briens, and until recently was the residence of three remarkable Joyce siblings.
Killone Lake is said to have been the abode of a mermaid who used to swim up a small brook and steal wine from the cellar of Newhall. Stabbed by the O’Briens’ butler, she managed to drag herself back into the lake to bleed to death, and the waters still turn red every forty years or so (due, unromantically, to algal bloom). Ballybeg Lake lies nearby.
Killone Convent, originally the convent of Cill Eoin / St John’s Church, founded in 1190 by Donal Mór O’Brien, king of Thomond, was the first Augustinian nunnery in County Clare, last occupied at the end of the C16th. The scenic ruin contains a crypt and is atmospherically surrounded by graves, including those of several generations of the Barrett family. (Photo – chrysbillinireland.blogspot.com)
The Annals of Inisfallen mention the death of “Slaney, O Bryan’s daughter, Abbesse of Kill Eoin, chief in devotion, almes-deedes and hospitality of all women in Munster” in 1260. Another abbess, Dubcollaithig Breyn, died in 1350. One legend relates how Honora O’Brien, a nun in Killone, ran off with Sir Roger O’Shaughnessy of Gort and presented him with a son and daughter before getting the Pope’s dispensation for their marriage.
In 1543 King Henry VIII granted the abbey to Donough “the fat” O’Brien, Baron of Ibrickan and future 2nd Earl of Thomond, but it seems to have revested in the Crown in 1584. It is mentioned in the “Visitation of Killaloe” in 1617 as the property of Baron Inchiquin.
St John the Baptist’s Well, situated at the northern end of Killone Lake, was once a popular place of pilgrimage for the people of Ennis and Clarecastle, and the venue of a yearly pattern in June.
West of Ennis
Kilmaley & Connolly (Co. Clare / West)
Kilmaley (Cill Mhaile) is a small village on the Kilmaley River. The surroundings comprise mixed bogland and forestry.
The Culleen Lodge is a friendly family-run B&B / restaurant.
Kilmaley is
Connolly (Fioch Rua) is a village on the Mid-Clare Way walking route.
Lough Naminna is a 45-acre lake surrounded by a Natural Heritage Area of bogs that shelter a variety of interesting plants and birdlife. Boats can be hired to fish for small native brown trout. Part of the shoreline is occupied by a major wind farm. (This lake should not be confused with Lough Namina in County Donegal). (Photo – www.culleenlodge.com)
The Hand, a significant five-fingered crossroads, is a good spot from which to ascend West Clare’s highest summit.
Mount / Slieve Callan
Mount / Slieve Callan (423m) is a low but inposing presence over much of the West Clare landscape. (Photo by Eddylandzaat)
The summit commands wonderful views of the Atlantic coast from Mount Brandon in County Kerry northwards to the Aran Islands and the Connemara Hills.
Leacht Chonáin, a prominent cairn on the southeastern slope of the mountain, has a medieval flagstone bearing a pseudo-Ogham inscription that scandalised Victorian antiquaries, appearing to claim that this is the tomb of Conan, a comical anti-hero in the legends of the Fianna. With him, according to folklore, is buried the golden key to the church of the enchanted island of Killstephen / Kilstapheen / Kilstuitheen, which sank beneath the waves at Clahane near Liscannor.
A part of the hillside is currently undergoing development as a large wind farm.
Mount Callan is also the name of a delicious farmhouse cheddar cheese made near Ennistymon.
The Slieve Callan is also the name of the old West Clare Railway‘s steam locomotive engine Nº 5, now restored and on display at Moyasta Junction between Kilrush and Kilkee.
Knocknalassa is the location of an impressive wedge-shaped gallery grave, hidden from the road by a hummock. Like many such sites all over Ireland, it is romantically known as “Diarmuid & Gráinne’s Bed”, yet another supposed place of refuge resorted to by the two mythical lovers as they fled from the wrath of Fionn Mac Cumhaill.
Doo Lough / Doolough Lake is a 220-acre expanse of fresh water at the top of the Annagearagh River, which flows into the Atlantic near Quilty. It is popular with anglers fishing for small native brown trout. (Photo – www.woodlandleague.org)
Kilmihil (Co. Clare / West)
Kilmihil (Cill Mhichíl - “church of St Michael“) is said to derive its name from a church founded by Saint Senan c.530AD, now vanished. For centuries a place of pilgrimage, a Holy Well is nowadays enclosed within a shrine topped by a statue of the archangel.
The village also has a Roman Catholic church, five pubs, three shops (including a bookshop), a library, a garage, a fast food joint, a community centre, sports pitches and several schools.
A Memorial Cross commemorates John Breen, a local 22-year-old IRA Volunteer shot dead in April 1920 during an attack on a Sunday RIC patrol.
Kilmihil is the setting of Niall Williams and Christine Breen‘s 1987 memoir of the Irish-American couple’s move from New York back to the cottage of their forebears, O Come Ye Back to Ireland: Our First Year in County Clare (and subsequent books When Summer’s in the Meadow and The Luck of the Irish), and is also featured in popular novelist Nora Roberts’ series (Born in Fire, Born in Ice, Born in Shame), published in the 1990s.
Kilmihil’s annual Festival of Fun draws large crowds to the village every August Bank Holiday weekend. It includes a street parade, a vintage rally, a raft race on Knockalough Lake followed by a barbeque, a donkey race, bonamh racing, a fireworks display and various other activities.
Kilmihil is
Forestry plantation on blanket bog, Cahermurphy, Kilmihil (2004). (Photo – www.woodlandleague.org)
Creagh (Co. Clare / West)
Creagh is not far from Quilty on ByRoute 1.
