Adare

Driving south out of Doolin through County Clare today, we passed lots of cyclists in large groups heading in the opposite direction. Quite a few of the groups had a support vehicle with a flashing light sitting behind them. The groups were quite spread out. I tried to find the name of the event this evening. I think it was probably Day 1 of a 3-day event called the Celtic Knot 1000, where the riders cover 362 km in a loop through County Clare. The following day, they leave from the same starting and finishing place and complete a 338 km loop through County Tipperary (yes, I know, it’s a long way), and on the final day they ride 301 km through Counties Galway and Offaly. The three loops complete a shape known as a Celtic knot, which I have inset into the route map.

Our first stop was at Clare Abbey, a ruined monastery just past the town of Ennis. It was quite a large structure, seemingly located in amongst the fields on someone’s farm. There were no information panels there and we had to climb up over several steps in a wall to gain entry. It obviously had not been in use as a monastery for probably hundreds of years, but in more recent times people had been buried there. I read online that the abbey had been founded by Augustinian monks in 1189, meaning that people were using this place over 900 years ago. I also read that the abbey had been the site of an ambush and a massacre in 1278. I find history like this fascinating. I think it deserves to have an information panel or two so that people can learn about it when they visit.

We stopped briefly in Limerick for a quick look at King John’s Castle, but decided not to go inside. King John was an English monarch, the brother of Richard the Lionheart. John was also known as Lord of Ireland. He began construction of his castle in Limerick on the banks of the River Shannon in 1200. Thomond Bridge, a historic arched bridge, of a similar age to the castle, crosses the river at this point. If there were better opportunities to park the car nearby we might have stayed longer, but, unfortunately, after grabbing a few photos we had to leave.

We decided to stop for lunch in Adare, a heritage town south-west of Limerick. There was nowhere to pull up to get a photo of Desmond Castle on our left as we entered town, and few vantage spots to walk back to for a photo, so there are a few shots below with just partial views of the castle. A short way past the castle, we passed the entrance gates to what appeared to be an exclusive golf course. The signs said it was Adare Manor Golf Course. When we googled it, we discovered that it is currently the most expensive golf course to join in all of Ireland and that the Ryder Cup competition is going to be played here in 2027. We managed to find a parking spot behind the heritage centre, which then allowed us plenty of time to walk through the town and explore a few of its historic sites. At the 13th century Trinitarian Abbey, there is a dove cot, a large circular structure with a hole in the roof and hundreds of nesting places for doves and pigeons around the interior walls. It was used by the monks from the abbey to keep the birds, which were a valuable food source for them. A little further down the road was an old church attached to a former Augustinian friary. It dates back to the 14th century. It seems the god-fearing residents of Adare were well served by having two important centres of Christianity situated only a few hundred metres apart in their town. The stream of traffic through the town was non-stop, making it difficult to cross the road. Eventually we found a gap in the traffic and crossed over to take a better look at Adare’s famous thatched roofed cottages. Unfortunately, cars are permitted to park in front of them, making it difficult for anyone to take photos. We didn’t go in any today. They’re either shops or restaurants now, and the place was buzzing with tourists. We found a much quieter place down the street and went in for lunch.

It was probably about an hour and a half’s drive from Adare to Killarney. Rod was driving and I dozed for about half an hour. When I woke again, I wasn’t quite sure what route we were taking, but it certainly wasn’t a major road. It was winding and quite bumpy in places. At one stage, Rod said Google Maps showed us driving through the middle of a lake, yet we were really on dry land the whole time. I slept through that, but would have found it quite comical. The first thing we did when we reached Killarney was to visit a launderette. It will be the last time on this trip that we need to wash our clothes. It was quite a social group in there as we chatted to an Irish woman who has just come home to Killarney after ten years in Canada, and a couple from London on holidays. Breda, the host at our accommodation, told us that there is a big weekend-long motorcycle event in Killarney going on right now. Apparently, the bikers come from all over Ireland and gather here for a few days, during which time there will be a parade of bikes and a free concert. I can hear the big Harleys going up and down the road as I’m typing. I think we’ll try to find the quieter parts of town and give them a wide berth for the next couple of days. I’m sure they’ll be well behaved, but I also think they’ll make a lot of noise. We can do without that.