town information ireland

A village sited where the road to Ennis (5 km) crosses the Fergus estuary, which is navigable to this point. An O'Brien castle commanded the crossing and it was probably this castle, occupied by the Earl of Thomond, which gave its name to Clare County when it was created in 1576....

The road passes through high, forested ground. The highest point, Maghera Mountain to the left, is the site of a television mast. The village has the remains of a medieval parish church (St. Moculla). There are several prehistoric gallery graves in the vicinity.

Tulla is a fishing centre, with a number of small lakes dotted about which give good sport. The area is, in fact, known as the Clare Lakelands, a country of lakes and hills, the latter known as drumlins. The village is buil...

Feakle is doubly famous as the place in which the poet Brian Merriman taught as a School-master and as the home of Biddy Early, the wise woman or witch about whom Augusta Lady Gregory collected much traditional lore and published it in her Visions and Beliefs of the West of Ireland.

Brian Merriman was neither born nor did he die in Feakle (born Ennistymon 1749, died Limerick 1805) but he chose to be buried here where he had spent many years and made the location and background of his on...

A picturesque village on the River Inny, between Lough Sheelin and Kinale. In the centre of the village there is a memorial to Myles "Slasher" O'Reilly, who defended the town bridge in 1646, during the Confederate wars. On the shore of lough Sheelin is Ross Castle where O'Reilly slept on the eve of the battle.

Sheelin is probably the best known brown trout lake in the midlands; it is a lake to be enjoyed by all the family, you can picnic, swim or just enjoy the scenery. If you...

This is an attractive old world village, a National Tidy Town winner, set at the entrance to Multyfarnham Friary. The Fransciscans have a long association with this place, having set up a monastery there in the early 14th century. Despite the dissolution of the monasteries in 1535 and havig been evicted a number of times, they always returned and now run a modern agricultural college.

The church, recently restored in the traditional Franciscan style, incorporates original sections d...

This town is about 13 miles from Mullingar and was built in the late 17th century by the Pollard family under a charter from Charles II. The old National school has been converted into an agricultural museum and heritage centre. Just outside Castlepollard in Tullynally Castle, the home of the Earl of Longford's family, the Packenhams.

The gardens are open from May to September....

The older village was extended about 1700 following introduction of industries (including iron-works) in the area. The new streets commemorated the Hanoverian succession - Orange, George, Hanover and Frederick. The village, well laid out with river and bridge, makes a pleasant picture....

The country around the village of Quin has many archaeological remains, the most notable being the Franciscan friary (remains). The first building that we know of on this site was a church, and then on the site de Clare built a castle in 1280 A.D. This was attacked and destroyed by the native Irish, and the present church was built on the site (c.1350 A.D.), incorporating some parts of the castle ruins. One of the MacNamara's, the local ruling family, brought the Franciscans to Quin c.1433 A....

A small village on the road to Limerick. Cratloe gets its name from the Irish for land of the Sally trees.

From Woodcock Hill behind it there are extensive views of the Shannon and Fergus estuaries and Shannon town and airport.

There are good forest walks. The Cratloe Woods, originally primeval oak woods now constitute a State forest, on the slopes of Woodcock Hill. They contain many interesting trees. It is said that Cratloe supplied the oak beams for the roof of Westminis...

Clare Island is a charming island of 16 sq km at the mouth of Clew Bay. The quartzite hills on the north-west rise to 461m in the peak of Knockmore, with some flat land of the east and south. Its early archaeological remains include a court-tomb at Lecarrow, ancient cooking-sites, standing-stones, promontory forts and other sites from later times. One of the most interesting places is the remains of the late fifteenth century Cistercian friary, which was originally founded by monks from Abbeykno...