About Doolin, County Clare!
Doolin or 'Fisher Street'as it was known is a famous fishing village. It has long been associated with great Irish music sessions, and was home to a great traditional Irish whistle player, the late Micko Russell. A visit to the Aran Islands is an unforgetable trip and shouldn't been missed. Boats leave several times daily from Doolin Pier.
The famous Cliffs of Moher stand facing the Atlantic ocean a short distance south. They are very impressive at over 200 mtrs high, and give visitors a high vantage point over Galway Bay and the Aran Islands. The cliffs are home to numerous seabirds, including gannets, razorbills guillemots and puffins, and the area is a birdwatcher's paradise.
The Burren are about 500 sq.kms of limestone landscape and surely one of the geatest natural wonders of Ireland. Its apparent bareness nurtures an internationally famous flora. When Stone Age farmers settled in the Burren they found the area forested. By late medieval times the felling of timber and the grazing of cattle produced to-days skeletal landscape. Man has left a mass of evidence of having lived on the Burren for thousands of years. Material remains abound, including megalithic tombs, stone and earth ring forts, round towers, medieval
churches, monasteries and castles. Burials took place in Poulnabrone and other dolmens some 5000 years ago. .
Gaelic Chieftains like the O'Briens, the O'Connors and the O'Loughlins - who were the Princesses of the Burren- had their castles here. One at least, Gleninagh Castle was inhabited until the middle of the 19th century. The Burren coastline shows a dramatic and picturesque mixture
of stone, beaches and a crystal clear blue Atlantic ocean.
The Aran Islands are an extension of the Burren landscape.
There are numerous caves, two of which, Ailwee Cave and Doolin Cave are open to visitors. You'll get an inside look into the area and its mysteries if you visit the Burren Centre in Kilfenora.
There's a lot more to see in County Clare - the region is rich in picturesque lake scenery, in reminders of the ancient past, abbeys and castles, in lively and colorful little towns! Click here for more information.