Overview
The oldest trace of a human being in Ireland was found a short walk from Clarecastle. In the Alice and Gwendoline Cave, in the woods on the village’s southern edge, archaeologists recovered a bear’s kneecap bearing butchery cut-marks, radiocarbon-dated to around 10,500 BC – proof that people were living and hunting here at the end of the last Ice Age. That single bone pushed the story of human Ireland back by centuries, and it turned up beside a village most drivers pass without a glance on the way to Ennis.
Clarecastle (Irish: An Clár) sits on the River Fergus where it widens toward the Shannon Estuary, a couple of kilometres south of Ennis. It is a working village with a castle, an old port and a good river walk, and it makes a quiet base a few minutes off the Shannon Estuary Way, the 207 km loop that runs off the Wild Atlantic Way.
The castle and the garrison
The village is named for the castle on an island in the narrowest navigable stretch of the Fergus. The O’Brien tower house dates from the 15th or 16th century, but the site’s real weight is military and later than most visitors expect. The fortress fell to Cromwell’s forces in 1651 and to the Williamites in 1691, and from 1691 right through to 1881 it served as the main British army garrison in County Clare – the plain barracks buildings, put up between 1748 and 1751, were built for that purpose. What survives today is more than a lone stump: a motte with part of the keep standing, the earthworks of an outer bailey, and the barracks alongside.
The Port of Clare
For much of the 19th century Clarecastle’s fortunes ran with the river. In 1837 the Sir Lucius O’Brien Dock, a new steamer quay, was built at the lower quay, and the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company began a regular paddle-steamer service – the Clarence – between the Port of Clare and Limerick. Barges and steamships carried corn, timber and coal up to Ennis and down to Limerick. The traffic is long gone, but the quay and its warehouses still stand as the village’s most distinctive feature.
A short walk inland brings you to Clare Abbey, founded in the 12th century as the largest and most important of the Augustinian monasteries in Clare. The ruins are free to visit and can also be seen from the river walk.
Walking: the river, the woods and the ways
The River Fergus Walk & Cycleway is the easy win here – a 5 km loop on a quiet, low-traffic corridor linking Clarecastle with the Quin Road in Ennis, level and well surfaced enough for buggies and bikes. The self-guided Clarecastle Heritage Trail ties together twelve points of interest around the village, with signed links out to Clare Abbey, Killone Abbey, Killoo Church, Ballybeg Woods and the river walk.
Ballybeg Woods repays the detour. Circular paths run through beech, ash and oak, and the Rocky Road along the southern edge follows an ancient Pilgrim’s Road that once connected Ennis Abbey, Clare Abbey, Killone Abbey and St John’s Holy Well – the same woods that hold the Alice and Gwendoline Cave. For serious walkers, Clarecastle is one of six trailheads on the Mid Clare Way, a 148 km loop that takes about six days and joins the East Clare Way.
Wildlife and the river
The tidal Fergus and the estuary beyond make rich feeding ground for waders and wildfowl. On the spring and autumn migrations the mudflats and reed beds draw oystercatchers, curlews, snipe and various ducks. The calm back-channels near the quay are used by local kayakers and canoeists, and coarse anglers work the river for pike, perch and roach.
The village year
Clarecastle keeps a strong community life – the local GAA club, Clarecastle GAA, plays in the black and white of ‘The Magpies’. The Clarecastle Regatta, a traditional rowing festival on the Fergus, comes round every June with flatwater races, a parade and music. Through the year there is a regular village market of crafts and artisan food and a farmers’ market every Saturday. The large village playground is built for children up to about twelve and includes a wheelchair-accessible roundabout. The composer Gerald Barry, one of Ireland’s leading contemporary voices, was born here in 1952.
Getting there and around
Clarecastle is a short drive from Ennis on the R458, and about twenty minutes from Shannon Airport via the M18 and R458. Ennis, effectively next door, is where you will find the full range of shops, cafés, toilets and parking, so it makes sense to treat the county town as your service stop.
Beyond Clarecastle
- Ennis – The county town, minutes away, with traditional music sessions and the Ennis Friary.
- Bunratty – South toward Limerick for Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.
- The Burren – Under an hour north into the limestone country.
- Cliffs of Moher – About an hour to the north-west.