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County Clare
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County Clare commonly referred to as simply Clare, is a county of Ireland and part of the wider province of Munster. Clare is one of the 26 counties within the Republic of Ireland and it provides a basis for local government, in the form of its own constituency within the Dáil Éireann. The county system has existed since the 16th century; as well as its governmental usage, the counties form a significant part of local identity and culture within the country.
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County Clare commonly referred to as simply Clare, is a county of Ireland and part of the wider province of Munster. Clare is one of the 26 counties within the Republic of Ireland and it provides a basis for local government, in the form of its own constituency within the Dáil Éireann. The county system has existed since the 16th century; as well as its governmental usage, the counties form a significant part of local identity and culture within the country. Located on the west coast of Ireland, Clare is northwest of the River Shannon covering a total area of 1,215 square miles (3,147 km²). The most populated town and county seat is Ennis.
County Clare succeeded the district of Thomond (which was part of Connacht), and when first created it was sometimes called County Thomond. Its nickname is the Banner County, which may refer to a former local tradition of carrying banners at political meetings and public occasions.
History
Ancient civilisations and Thomond
There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the pre-Celtic peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones. Clare is one of the richest places for these tombs in Ireland, the most noted is in the The Burren area, it is known as Poulnabrone dolmen which translates as the hole of sorrows. The remains of the people inside the tomb have been excavated and dated to 3800 BC. Ptolemy created a map of Ireland in his Geographia with information dating from 100 AD, it is the oldest written account of the island with geographical features. Within his map Ptolemy names the Celtic tribes inhabiting it and the areas in which they resided; in the area of Clare he indentified a tribe known as the Gangani. Historians have found the tribes on the west of Ireland hardest to identify with known peoples, however Camden and O'Conor would later describe the Gangani as having been descended from the Concani, one of the eleven tribes in the confederacy of the Cantabri in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula.
Geography
Physical and geological
Bodies of water define much of the physical boundaries of Clare. To the southeast is the River Shannon which is Ireland's longest river, the border to the northeast is defined by Lough Derg which is the third largest lake on Ireland and to the west is the Atlantic Ocean. The only county which is physically connected to Clare by land is County Galway to the north, however there are several across-water bridges which connects it to eastwards County Tipperary and southwards County Limerick. Along with County Cork, County Kerry, County Waterford, County Limerick and County Tipperary, County Clare is part of Munster which is one of the four traditional provinces of Ireland.
County Clare contains The Burren, a unique karst region, which contains rare flowers and fauna. At the western edge of The Burren, facing the Atlantic Ocean, are the Cliffs of Moher.
The highest point in County Clare is Moylussa, 532m, in the Slieve Bearnagh range in the east of the county.
The county's Southern border is the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland. Along this estuary is the town of Shannon and the location of Shannon International Airport. This airport was the first airport to have a duty-free zone.
Main towns
Other small towns and villages
- Ballynacally, Ballyvaughan
- Carrigaholt, Carron, Clarecastle, Clonina, Clonlara, Connolly, Cooraclare, Corofin, Cratloe, Cree (Creegh), Cross.
- Doolin, Doonaha, Doonass, Doonbeg, Doora
- Ennistymon
- Feakle, Fenagh, Fanore.
- Inagh, Inch
- Kilbaha, Kilfenora, Kilkee, Killadysert, Killaloe, Killimer, Kilmaley, Kilmihil, Kilnamona, Knockerra.
- Lahinch, Liscannor, Lisdoonvarna, Lissycasey
- Meelick, Miltown Malbay, Mountshannon, Mullagh
- Newmarket-on-Fergus
- O'Briensbridge, Ogonnelloe
- Quilty, Quin
- Ruan
- Scariff, Sixmilebridge, Spanish Point
- Tuamgraney, Tubber, Tulla
- Whitegate
Islands
Governance
In the present day Clare is represented by its own parliamentary constituency in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas and has since 1921. Clare is currently served by four Teachtaí Dála, known in shorthand as TDs. Briefly a small area of Clare was in the Clare-Galway South constituency during the 1970s before its abolition. The second tier of local governance is represented by the town councils — Clare has four in the form of Ennis, Kilrush, Kilkee and Shannon. The constituency is historically a Fianna Fáil stronghold, which since the establishment of Irish Independence has represented a centrism form of liberal conservatism in the country; Fine Gael also features. Prominent former TDs for Clare include Éamon de Valera who went on to become Taoiseach and President, former president Patrick Hillery and former Cabinet Minister Brendan Daly.
Earlier in its history while part of the Kingdom of Ireland, Clare had its own constituency from 1614 until 1800, sending Members of Parliament to the Irish House of Commons, which was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland. Between the years 1725 and 1793 however, the Roman Catholic majority could not vote. While part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland its constituency continued, this time sending MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Some of the better known representatives were William Vesey-FitzGerald and Daniel O'Connell, the latter is well known for his campaign for Catholic Emancipation. During this time Ennis was represented by its own borough constituency. The Clare constituency was split up into East Clare and West Clare in 1885, this continued until Irish Independence in 1922. Both titles have long since been abolished as Ireland is now a republic, but previously Ireland's monarch was represented in Clare by its own High Sheriff since the 16th century and its own Lord Lieutenant since 1831.
Demography
Many Clare surnames are derived from the powerful septs which ruled over the area. Common surnames are O'Brien, Downes, O'Dea, Kelly, McNamara, O'Grady, McInerney, Hogan, Hickey, Griffin, Whelan, McMahon, Clancy and Considine. In addition many unusual surnames such as Talty, Lillis, Lernihan, Minogue, Clune, Ginnane, O'Davoren, McGann, McLysaght, Ronan and Haugh can be found due to the isolated nature of the county.
Transport
Clare, through Ennis Rail and Bus Station, is served by both bus and rail links to all major cities and towns in Ireland. The main bus depot is adjacent to the town's train station and both are located about one kilometre distance from the town centre. The station is situated on the Clon Road toward the east of the town, which links to the main N18 in either direction.
Bus services are provided to Shannon Airport, Galway, Limerick, Cork, Dublin and all routes in between and run nearly every hour. Shannon Airport is 15 minutes from Ennis, providing daily flights to European and US destinations.
In 1976 passenger trains were withdrawn on the railway line from Limerick to Claremorris via Ennis. County Clare thus became the only Irish county outside Ulster without a passenger train service. The closure of Ennis station proved to be only temporary; eighteen train services per day are now provided to and from Limerick City, from where connecting rail services are available to both Dublin and Cork. The Western Railway Corridor north of Ennis (to Athenry and Galway) is expected to reopen in April 2009.
Ennis was formerly the starting point of the West Clare Railway, a narrow gauge railway which ran from Ennis to Ennistymon, Miltown Malbay and onwards to the towns and villages along the West Clare coastline. Trains ran from the same railway station as still used by mainline Irish railway services. The line was CIÉ's last narrow gauge railway and was finally closed in 1961, despite investment in new diesel trains in the early/mid 1950s.
Culture
Places of interest
County Clare is known for beautiful natural scenery.
Music
County Clare has a strong history of Traditional music. It is home of the Kilfenora Céilí Band, Stockton's Wing, Sharon Shannon, Eoin O'Neill, Eamon Cotter, Peadar O'Loughlin, Martin Hayes and legendary tin-whistlist Micho Russell. Ennis in County Clare is also the birthplace of Grammy-nominated songtress Maura O'Connell whose grandmother started a fish market in the Town. The county has many traditional music festivals and one of the most well known is the Willie Clancy Summer School, which is held every July in the town of Miltown Malbay in memory of the renowned uilleann piper, Willie Clancy. Contemporary music from Co. Clare includes The Walls who are from Ennistymon (former members of The Stunning).
Miltown Malbay is also home to Oidhreacht an Chlair, an institute for higher education in all aspects of Irish tradition, history and literature.
Sport
The Clare hurling team has one of the best records of success in the country in recent years with many cups such as the Liam McCarthy Cup having been won in 1995 and 1997 and also finalists in 2002. Clare won the Munster Final in football in 1992 beating Kerry. There is a strong Gaelic Athletic Association(GAA) presence in County Clare with the founder of the GAA, Michael Cusack, having been born in Carron which is situated in the heart of the Burren in North Clare.
Irish rugby internationals from Clare include Keith Wood, Anthony Foley & Marcus Horan.
Sources
See also
External links
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