My wife and I have lived in Ireland for over seven years and traveled the length and breadth several times as well as virtually every byway along the west coast, our favorite area of the emerald isle. This article features Co. Clare the home of Shannon Airport which I think is better than Dublin for starting and finishing your tour around this scenic island. There is a great deal to see and do within a short drive of the airport and certainly more in Co. Clare than I can describe in this world-wide web sized article.
I have long cringed when I am asked for recommendations of unspoiled locations, as if everywhere else was spoiled. Yet that was what came to mind when I first saw the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, one of the top attractions for all of Ireland. My first visit to the cliffs in 1995 was wild and free. The only restrictions were small signs warning of possible loose earth near the edge as you lie down on a rock outcropping to peer over the edge at the whole majesty left and right. Now you must pay an entrance fee to be restricted to fenced footpaths that only allow views of one end or the other; the middle panorama is off-limits.
I must say however that the visitor centre is very well done inside and out. The architecture is very unobtrusively blended into the hillside. The exhibitions include a very well-illustrated explanation of the whole geologic phenomenon of the greater area known as the Burren. So, I had to conclude that the Centre is good value for its reasonable admission fee despite my distaste for the commercialization of this natural site.
But there is an alternative for those of us with an aversion to restrictions and crowds. About 40 km south you take the coast road out of Kilkee to Foohagh Point and Castle Point. There you will be able to drive along cliffs just as dramatic as those of Moher and be able to use your own judgment at the viewpoints as to how far to lean out for that perfect photo. Also you can continue on to Loop Head and Kilbaha Bay for more fine scenery.
The north part of Co. Clare (east of the Cliffs of Moher) is known as the Burren. It is the origin of the Cromwellian statement: "of this barony it is said that it is a country where there is not water enough to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him." The Burren is a large area of unique geology about 96 square miles (250 sq. km.) that does not get a lot of attention. Perhaps due to a lack of a focal point of breathtaking scenery like so many other parts of Ireland. We, however, drive through it often because it holds the birth place of our interest in Ireland, the Burren Perfumery. Shortly after its founding in the 1960's my wife, Karin, had sampled the new fragrance, Frond, in Portland, Oregon. Through a series of "coincidences" she ended up seeking out the owner on her first trip to Ireland in the 1980's and fell in love with the stone, flora and fauna of the wide open spaces. Its uniqueness comes from few visible lakes or rivers; they are nearly all underground because rain water soaks through the surface layer of limestone until reaching bedrock. There is one river, the Aille, which actually diminishes as it flows toward the sea.
I have mentioned ten locations above but my top ten have to include Bunratty Folk Park which is a microcosm of Ireland in one pleasant stroll around the park and our current home town of Ennis, an easy to get around town with lots of attractions and historical significance and close to Shannon Airport.
Other peoples' favorites would include the surfing capital of Lahinch and traditional music capital, Doolin -- both an easy drive from all the others. In fact nowhere else in Ireland, I think, will you find more variety of the real Ireland than Co. Clare.
Michael has become a global nomad leaving the US in 1996 to live in Ireland, Greece and the Czech Republic with his wife, Karin. He publishes a series of personalised travel guides so that his experience will enhance yours.
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