Ennis, Ireland Attractions

Near the Ennis abbey, in Harmony Row, is the De Valera Museum and Library, with material on Ennis and the surrounding area and the history of Ireland. Among the exhibits is the fountain pen with which Eamon de Valera and Neville Chamberlain signed the 1938 treaty on the handing over of the Irish naval bases occupied by Britain.

This annual festival takes place in late May, bringing together traditional Irish music and dance. Performers are invited from throughout Ireland to showcase local traditions and customs.

6mi/10km east of Ennis on the R469 is Quin, with Quin Abbey (1402: National Monument), the well-preserved ruins of a Franciscan friary built on the foundations of an earlier castle, the bastions of which can still be seen. The church has tombstones of the 15th to 19th C.; well-preserved cloister. On the other side of the little river stands St Finghin's Church (13th C.: National Monument); the tower is a later addition.

2mi/3km south of Ennis on the N18 are the ruins of Clare Abbey (National Monument), founded in the 12th C. and extended at various times down to the 15th C.

Between Ennis and Newmarket lies Clarecastle with the ruined castle of the same name in the River Fergus. The county of Clare was possibly named after this castle.

At Cratloe, a short distance east of Bunratty Castle south of Ennis, stands Cratloe Woods House, a 19th C. mansion.

The Dromore Wood reserve is a semi-natural woodland with a variety of inhabitants, particularly the pine marten. Near the lake edge stands the 17th C. O'Brien castle and Kilakee church. The information center is open during the summer months.

3mi/5km southwest of Ennis on the N68, in a beautiful setting on a lough, are the remains of Killone Abbey (12th C.; National Monument), one of Ireland's few nunneries.

Southeast of Quin Abbey on the R469 we come to Knappogue Castle, a 16th C. tower house furnished in period style. In summer "medieval banquets" are held in the 19th C. annex.

Beyond Urlanmore Castle we come to Newmarket on Fergus where Dromoland Castle, a mansion of 1830, now a hotel, has lovely gardens, an old tower and a large stone fort within the grounds.

Bunratty attracts large numbers of tourists, being only 7mi/11km from Shannon International Airport. The airport, the most westerly in Europe, was opened in 1945, with the world's first duty-free shop. Since it lost its importance as a port of call for transatlantic flights, a development company, Shannon Free Airport Development Ltd. has established a variety of industries here (precision tools, electronic apparatus, industrial diamonds, etc.). The town of Shannon has a population of 7,000.

The R462 leads south from Craggaunowen Project to Sixmilebridge, a pretty little village with what has been called a "Georgian doll's house," Mount Ievers (1736). From here a minor road runs southwest to the village of Bunratty where, on the banks of a stands Bunratty Castle.

From Shannon Airport the N18 runs north to Ennis. On the left of the road can be seen the fine ruin of Urlanmore Castle. On the wall of an upper room in the keep are medieval outline drawings of animals.