The Burren (Irish: Boireann, meaning “great rock”) is a karst-landscape region in northwest County Clare. It is one of the largest karst landscapes in Europe. The region measures approximately 250 square kilometres and is enclosed roughly within the circle made by the villages Ballyvaughan, Kinvara, Tubber, Corofin, Kilfenora and Lisdoonvarna. It is bounded by the Atlantic and Galway Bay on the west and north, respectively.

A small portion of the Burren has been designated as Burren National Park. It is one of only six national parks in the Republic of Ireland and the smallest in size (15 km²).

Burren is rich with historical and archaeological sites. There are more than 90 megalithic tombs in the area, portal dolmens (including Poulnabrone Dolmen), a celtic high cross in the village of Kilfenora, and a number of ring forts – among them the triple ring fort Cahercommaun on the edge of an inland cliff, and the exceptionally well-preserved Caherconnell Stone Fort. Corcomroe Abbey is one of the area’s main scenic attractions.

The rolling hills of Burren are composed of limestone pavements with crisscrossing cracks known as “grikes”, leaving isolated rocks called “clints”. The region supports arctic, Mediterranean and alpine plants side-by-side, due to the unusual environment. The blue flower of the Spring Gentian, an alpine plant, is used as a symbol for the area by the tourist board. Burren’s many limestone cliffs, particularly the sea-cliffs at Ailladie, are popular with rock-climbers.

Burren has a long history of traditional Irish music. It is particularly known for the “West Clare Style” of concertina playing and the music festival in Doolin.

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Poulnabrone Dolmen (Poll na mBrón in Irish meaning “hole of sorrows”) is a portal tomb in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland, dating back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC to 2900 BC. It is situated 8km (5 miles) south of Ballyvaughan and 9.6km (6 miles) north-west of Kilnaboy.

The dolmen consists of a twelve foot, thin, slab-like, tabular capstone supported by two slender portal stones, which lift the capstone 1.8m (6ft) from the ground, creating a chamber in a 9m (30ft) low cairn. The cairn helped stabilize the tomb, and would have been much higher originally. The entrance faces north and is crossed by a low sill stone.

A crack was discovered in the eastern portal stone in 1985. Following the resulting collapse, the dolmen was dismantled, and the cracked stone was replaced. Excavations during this time found that at least 22 adults and children were buried under the monument. Personal items buried with the dead included a polished stone axe, a bone pendant, quartz crystals, weapons and pottery. In the Bronze Age, around 1700BC, a newborn baby was buried in the portico, just outside the entrance. With its dominating presence on the limestone landscape of the Burren, the tomb must have remained a centre for ceremony and ritual until well into the Celtic period.

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Limerick  is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city in County Limerick. Limerick is the second-largest city in the province of Munster, an area which constitutes the midwest and southwest of Ireland.

Limerick is situated on several curves and islands of the River Shannon, which spreads into an estuary shortly after Limerick. Road infrastructure features three main crossing points near the city centre (an additional river tunnel to the west of the three bridges is expected to open in 2010), and in 2006 the Limerick urban area had a population of 91,000 Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork-Limerick-Galway corridor, which has a population of 1 million.

As with most other large cities in the country, Limerick has attracted a noticeable immigrant community over the past decade. The Polish community is the second largest outside of Dublin, with an estimated 10,000 living and working in the city. Ireland’s first Polish bank opened in 2007. The African community has set up a number of churches, which are now part of the cultural makeup of the city.

Limerick is at the centre of the Midwest region, which contributed €8.224 billion in 2002 to Irish GDP. It is 195 km west of Dublin and is 105 km from both Cork to the south and Galway to the north.

Limerick City is one of the country’s main tourist destinations, only a 15-minute drive from Shannon Airport. Currently tourism is growing at a spectacular rate with over 1,000 new beds being opened in the city in 2006 thanks to the opening of five new hotels. The city is the first to provide visitors with ‘Street Ambassadors’, people designated to help others around and make their stay more enjoyable.

Tourist attractions in the city centre include King John’s Castle (1212), St Mary’s Cathedral (1168), Hunt Museum, several seasonal tours (Angela’s Ashes walking tour of Limerick City, historical walking tour and boat tours along the River Shannon), the University of Limerick, Georgian house and gardens and the Treaty Stone. Adare village and the Foynes Flying Boat Museum on the outskirts of the city are also popular attractions.

The Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum, also known as Limerick Museum, is next to King John’s Castle. It contains displays on Limerick’s history and manufactures.

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Bunratty Castle is a large tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It lies in the center of Bunratty village by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The name Bunratty, Bun Raite in Irish, means the ‘bottom’ or end of the ‘Ratty’ river. This river, alongside the castle, flows into the nearby Shannon estuary. From the top of the castle, one can look over to the estuary and the airport.

The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage.

Key events in Bunratty’s history include:

• The first dwellings to occupy the site, in 970 were part of a Viking trading camp.
• In 1270, Robert De Muscegros built the first defensive fortress, known as a motte and bailey castle.
• These lands were later granted to Thomas de Clare, who built the first stone structure on the site. At this time Bunratty town had grown to a population of 1,000.
• In 1318, Thomas’s son Richard de Clare, Steward of Forest of Essex (new holder of the castle) was killed in the Battle of Dysert O’Dea during the Irish Bruce Wars 1315-1318. The castle and town were completely destroyed by the victorious O’Briens.
• In 1332, soon after being restored for the King of England, the castle was once again razed by the Irish Chieftains of Thomond under the O’ Briens and the MacNamaras.
• In 1353, after lying in ruins for 21 years, it was rebuilt by Sir Thomas Rokeby, but was almost immediately attacked again by the Irish and was held by Irish hands thereafter.
• The present structure was completed by the MacNamara family around 1425 but 50 years later was in the hands of the O’Briens, the most powerful clan in Munster.
• In 1646, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Barnabas O’Brien, 6th Earl of Thomond, allowed a large English Parliamentary garrison to land in Bunratty. The castle was besieged and taken by the forces of Confederate Ireland under Donagh MacCarthy, Viscount Muskerry.
• When Barnaby, or Barnabas O’Brien, 6th Earl of Thomond, left Bunratty for England in 1646 for his own safety, during the Confederate wars, he was the last member of the O’Brien Clan ever to reside in Bunratty Castle. He was actually christened Brian O’Brien, after his famous ancestor Brian Boru, but being a political gymnast, he preferred a more English appellation to appease the King, and to be socially acceptable in the climate of the time.
• Bunratty Castle and its lands were granted to the Studdert family. They left the castle in 1804 (allowing it to fall into disrepair), to reside in the more comfortable and modern adjacent Bunratty House built by the family. The reasons for the move are bound up in family arguments over the eldest son marrying his first cousin. Both the castle and house are open to the public.
• In 1954 the castle was purchased and restored by the 7th Viscount Gort. He reroofed the castle, which had no longer been lived in as much at the time, and saved it from ruin.

Alongside the castle is an extensive folk park, particularly popular with families, tourists and schools. This features reconstructions of historical cottages and buildings, recreating the general feel of the 19th century with a period style village main street. Old tools, furniture and artifacts are displayed, with the village kept alive by some inhabited shops, an old home bakery and peat fires in cottages.

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Renowned as one of Ireland’s prettiest villages, Adare is designated as a Heritage Town by the Irish government. Adare is located 16 km (10 mi) from Limerick City.

Adare is a major tourist destination, with many tours of Ireland’s south-west stopping off in the village. The local heritage centre, which gives a deep insight into the history of the village, also hosts a number of craft shops. Adare is also a popular wedding and conference venue. Adare is becoming a major golf destination with two 18-hole courses – the Adare Golf Club, which incorporates a driving range and which was the site of the 2007 and 2008 Irish Open, the Adare Manor Golf Club and a Pitch and Putt course. Adare has one equestrian centre: Clonshire. Adare is home to a number of world-renowned stables.

The main street combines quintessential Irish architecture with the English styled buildings and infrastructure purpose-built for the Dunraven estate. Examples of the latter architectural forms include the thatched cottages near the entrance to Adare Manor.

History

The ancient town lay upon the eastern bank of the Maigue near a ford (crossing point) in the region known as Ardshanbally (derived from ard sean bhaile, ‘high old town’), about half-a mile from the modern town on the western side. Historically a market town, in the Middle Ages Adare was a major settlement and boasted three monasteries and a castle.

Augustinian Priory

“Augustinian Abbey, Adare

(with the castle of the Fitzgeralds and the Francescan Abbey)”, 1842

The Augustinian Priory was founded in 1316 by John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare. The Priory was suppressed in the reign of Henry VIII. In 1807, the church of the Priory was given to the local Church of Ireland congregation as the parish church. In 1814 the refectory was roofed and converted into a schoolhouse. Between 1852 and 1854 a second restoration of the church was undertaken by Caroline, Countess of Dunraven.

Franciscan Abbey

The Franciscan friary was founded in 1464 by Thomas Fitz-Maurice, 7th Earl of Kildare and his wife Joan, and completed two years later. It is currently a ruin and is located inside the Adare Manor Golf Club. Every Easter Sunday a dawn mass is celebrated in the Abbey.

Trinitarian Abbey

The Trinitarian Order established their only monastery in Ireland in Adare in 1230. The Abbey was restored in 1811 by the first Earl of Dunraven as the Catholic Parish church.

Desmond Castle

Said to have been built originally by the O’Donovans, and afterwards to have passed into the possession of the Kildare branch of the FitzGeralds. Desmond castle, as it is popularly known stands on the north bank of the Maigue. An extensive renovation is being carried out on the castle since 1996 and supervised tours are offered in the summer months.

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Located in the parish of Liscannor at the south-western edge of the Burren area near Doolin, the Cliffs of Moher are located in County Clare, Ireland.

The cliffs rise 120 meters (394 ft) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag’s Head (Irish: Ceann na Cailleach), and reach their maximum height of 214 meters (702 ft) just north of O’Brien’s Tower, eight kilometres away. The cliffs boast one of Ireland’s most spectacular views. On a clear day the Aran Islands are visible in Galway Bay, as are the valleys and hills of Connemara.

There are many animals living on the cliffs. Most of these are birds, with an estimated 30,000 birds from 29 species. These include the noted Atlantic Puffins, which live in large colonies at isolated parts of the cliffs and on the small Goat Island. Also present are hawks, gulls, guillemots, shags, ravens and choughs.

O’Brien’s Tower is a round stone tower at the approximate midpoint of the cliffs. It was built by Sir Cornelius O’Brien, a descendant of Ireland’s High King Brian Boru, in order to impress female visitors. From atop that watchtower, one can view the Aran Islands and Galway Bay, the Maum Turk Mountains and the Twelve Pins to the north in Connemara, and Loop Head to the south.

The Cliffs of Moher has been developed by Clare County Council to allow visitors to experience the Cliffs, without the distraction of overly-imposing man-made amenities or features. In keeping with this approach, the “Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience” is built into a hillside approaching the Cliffs, blending naturally with the surrounding countryside. The centre is also environmentally sensitive in its use of renewable energy systems including geothermal heating and cooling, solar panels, and greywater recycling.

Officially opened in February 2007, having been planned and built over a 17 year period, the €32 million facility features an array of interactive media, exploring topics such as the origin of the Cliffs in local and global geological contexts, the bird and fish life in the area, and many more. An IMAX-type multimedia show allows visitors to experience a bird’s eye view from the cliffs, as well as seeing the inside of underwater caves at the foot of the cliffs. The official Cliffs of Moher website features pictures and information on tours, school trips and other areas of interest.

The Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience won an award in the Interpret Britain & Ireland Awards 2007 awarded by the Association of Heritage Interpretation.