Doolin

Doolin is a place of great beauty and tranquillity, where the visitor can refresh their spirits away from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. For some it is a world-renowned centre of Traditional Irish Music and merriment. For others it is a base from which to explore a magnificent part of Ireland. Situated as it is on the edge of The Burren it is a paradise for geologists, botanists, ornithologist, speleologist and walkers.

Our restaurants offer fine foods with local seafood a speciality. Our world-famous pubs feature traditional music sessions nightly. Craft shops offer a range of locally produced hand-crafted product, and Music shops have a wide range of items to suit all tastes.

Aran Islands

On the western fringes of the Atlantic Ocean, the three Aran Islands have been standing guard over Galway Bay for centuries. They are situated in a north-westerly, south easterly direction at the mouth of Galway Bay and just miles from the coast of Co. Clare at Doolin. They are famous for their geological formation, historical monuments and their linguistic and cultural heritage. The Irish Language is still spoken here and in the twenty first century all native born islanders are bilingual, speaking Irish and English.

Loved by all who visit, the Aran Islands are three of the most unspoilt islands in the Atlantic, and the last outpost of traditional Irish culture. There are a number of companies operating ferries to all three of the Islands from Doolin from April to October, weather permitting.

 

 

 

 

 

Cliffs of Moher

Ranging for 8 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean on the western seaboard of County Clare, The Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland's top natural Visitor attractions with almost one million visitors every year. The Cliffs are 320 million years old, and tell the story of the Earth through geological time. They stand 214m high at the highest point. The Cliffs are a designated UNESCO Geo Park, and with over 30,000 nesting pairs each year, including puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes they are home to Ireland's largest mainland seabird nesting colony.

The Cliffs of Moher have inspired music, literature and legend since time immemorial, and have been the location for movies including Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, The Princess Bride, Into the West and Ryan's Daughter; TV shows like Father Ted, and for music videos by bands like Westlife.

The Eco-friendly visitors centre at the Cliffs is open daily, times subject to seasonal change. Cruises operate to see the cliffs from the ocean from Doolin several times per day in season, weather permitting.

The Burren

Named from the ancient Gaelic word Boireann, or barren place of stone, the Burren covers an area of 270 square kilometers on the north coast of Co. Clare. On seeing the Burren for the first time, you will be struck by the surreal, "lunar" terrain of this karst limestone area, which is in startling contrast to the soft green contours usually associated with the west of Ireland, and is unique to this part of Europe. It looks as if it were the first land God Made; in fact while man has been settled here for at least six thousand years, it is probably the youngest landscape in Europe.

Although it can resemble a limestone desert, it nurtures the most varied flora in Europe and is of huge interest and significance to geologists, botanists and archaeologists alike. Pot holers and speleologists recognize an underground Burren, where rivers vanish down swallow holes, valleys are without streams and lakes disappear in the dry weather, all forming a vast maze of subterranean passages in the rock floor.

The Burren is so much more than the sum of its parts, some visitors tour it in an afternoon, others explore it over a lifetime and still declare they haven't yet come to the end of it.

Doolin Cave

Here in the depths of the cave at Doolin, is a secret kept for thousands of years, the Great Stalactite of Doolin. It has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years, from just a single droplet of water, persistently dripping until the stalactite has reached a length of more than 7.3 metres, 24 feet approximately.

The stalactite was only discovered in 1952 by cavers exploring the maze of caves tunnelled by the rivers that run underneath the soft limestone of the Burren. Doolin cave offers a unique opportunity to see one of the largest free hanging stalactites anywhere in the world.

Doolin Cave and coffee room is open year-round, and from 10am to 5pm in season.

Ailwee Cave

The Ailwee cave has more than 3,500 feet of winding passages through caverns underneath The Burren. Visitors to this popular County Clare attraction are guided on a 35-minute stroll through caverns, over bridged chasms, beneath weird rock formations and alongside a thunderous waterfall. This stunning Nature's creation was formed by prehistoric Ice Age melt waters carving a cave out of this limestone mountain.

Also worth a visit is the Burren Birds of Prey Centre, located at Aillwee Cave, which features the largest display of falcons, harris hawks, owls, American kestrels and white tailed sea eagles in the country. During the breeding season visitors will be able to see young birds of prey being hand-reared, learn about falconry as an ancient sport and become more aware of indigenous species and the environmental issues involved in their protection.

The attraction is completed by a craft shop an coffee shop hewn from the natural rock of the mountainside, and a Farm Shop which produces it's own speciality cheese and fudge, and which stocks a wide range of local and Irish produce.