![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Magical and Mystical: Touring Clare in a Land RoverHave you ever tried to fit two adults--maybe rather larger than they would like--four kids, two sets of golf clubs, fishing tackle, wet weather gear, far too much luggage, various computer games, and a complete ensemble for Barbie, in the back of a normal rental car? It's a terrible squeeze, isn't it. Lucky that Scruffy the dog stayed at home. Or have you ever been tempted by an Irish turfcutters' road that leaves the tarmac and winds, tantalisingly elusive, off into the mist, far, far away from the routes that most travellers take? Have you ever tried to follow this alluring path only to spin and slide in a sedan car, and been forced to return to the tarmac, leaving the wide bog ocean unexplored? Or driven the laneways of Ireland unable to see over the hedges from the low position in your sedan car to the magneficient views you just know are there? Or wished you could rent a vehicle as comfortable, luxurious, and capable as the one you left at home?
There are times when a normal sedan car isn't enough. Then it's time for a Land Rover. Liam Cleary, in Co. Clare can rent you one. Based in the thriving town of Ennis, a short distance from Shannon International Airport and surrounded by some of the most magneficent and mystical Irish scenery, Liam Cleary is the local Land Rover dealer. He offers a stable of late model Discoverys for rent, as well as the recent model Range Rover. There's always a good stock of new, and warrantied used vehicles for sale as well, should you be staying a while longer. Margaret Coffey, the rentals manager at Liam Cleary's, is a one-stop shop. No surprises here, no dealing with several different people and having to explain your requirements to each one, Margaret does it all. She will take your booking--via email, phone or fax--and reserve the vehicle for you. She will pick you up at Shannon International Airport or your regional B&B and ensure that you are familiar with the vehicle before you head away on your Irish adventure. In the unlikely event of any difficulties, Margaret will come out and save you. Your Land Rover can be delivered to Dublin or Galway airports too, indeed, pretty much anywhere in Ireland with advance notice, and dropped off at a different point. Best of all, the price she quotes is the price you will pay. No hidden extras!
It's a fine place to eat too, with pubs and restaurants serving a variety of foods. The food is as cosmopolitan as the music is traditional; and you can eat from a variety of restaurants, including fresh seafood, caught around the Clare coastline. So where to go from Ennis?
If you want more local history, just a few miles down the road from Quin is Knappogue Castle. Enjoy the drive there, through the lanes and hedges of curling green growth and wildflowers. Isn't it just grand how the Land Rover is high enough that you can see over those riotous hedges, and enjoy the view of the fields and farms. There's standing stones in some of the fields too, a rare treat that you would have missed seeing from a low sedan. The little cousin to the better known Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Knappogue Castle is smaller, more intimate, and less crowded. Sean MacCon, the son of Sioda MacNamara, built it in 1467. Properly speaking, it's a tower house--a heavily fortified house, built to defend the family and their own in wartime. In peacetime, it was used to entertain, and many a magnificent feast would have been held underneath its roof. East Clare boasts eighty-four of these historic buildings in various states of preservation or decay, and forty-two of them were built by the MacNamara clan. A MacNamara also built Bunratty Castle, but it passed to the O'Brien clan shortly before Knappogue Castle was built.
There's a lot to enjoy at Knappogue. Small rooms and stone-flagged corridors, spiral stairways lead up the tower, and the great high-roofed rooms echo with your footsteps. Its rooms are preserved and finished to give the feel of the castle in its heyday. They hold medieval banquets here too, joyous occasions of flowing mead (distilled from honey), music and song, comely serving wenches and of course the food, served on long wooden tables so you can carouse with friends, old and new. And if you find you enjoy it so much that you don't want to leave? Well, there is an apartment to rent (bookings essential). Your Land Rover looks regally at home here too, resting in state outside the door. Down the road from Knappogue Castle is Finn Lough, an open wind-swept lake, surrounded by reedy banks. The road winds around the northern edge, and here the observant traveller will find the Finn Lough holy well. Dedicated to St Luctícern, who was the head of the religious community in Finn Lough in the 15th century, the well is set close to the road, in a graveyard. Back in the days when St Luctícern was Abbott, he was working in the fields with three monks. A young woman approached them, moaning and wailing because she had cholera, and indeed she bore the characteristic swellings of the disease. St Luctícern took her into the field and knocked her head three times on a stone. "Go," said the saint to the woman, "You are cured." And indeed, her swellings had vanished as if they never were. The saint turned to the three monks who were with him. "What do you think, lads?" he said. "Is this a miracle?" The first monk replied, "I don't believe that it is." The second monk replied, "I half believe that it is." And the third monk replied, "I am sure that it is a miracle, and that God worked a miracle through you." The stone on which St Luctícern hit the young woman's head is now incorporated into the wall of the graveyard, and is known locally as 'The Curing Stone'. Three other stones, also set in the outer wall represent the faces of the three monks who were with the saint that day. On the stone that represents the monk who believed, all the features are visible. On the stone that represents the monk who half believed, half the features are visible. And on the stone that represents the monk who didn't believe, none of the features are visible.
Each saint has a Pattern Day, when the well is traditionally most visited. St Luctícern's pattern day is April 28th, although people visit at any time.
When visiting Ireland, the mundane becomes magical. Especially in a Land Rover
To book a Land Rover, contact: Margaret will handle your booking from start to finish, and can tailor the rental to suit your requirements. Prices are all inclusive--the only exception is a mileage allowance of 100 miles per day for 1-2 day rentals. Longer rentals have unlimited mileage. A Land Rover Discovery is guaranteed, and if you book one you won't be fobbed off with a lesser vehicle. They also have a range of sedan cars and commercial vehicles for rent. If you have your own comprehensive Irish insurance, it can be transferred to the Land Rover. A U.S. issued platinum Mastercard will normally cover the insurance requirements without the need to purchase further insurance, but terms and conditions can change, so check with your credit card provider before you travel. Note that some credit cards specifically exclude Ireland when they say they cover vehicle insurance in Europe.
© Bushducks 2004
If you have ever spent a holiday in Ireland, or plan to, please take a moment to fill out our questionnaire. Your answers will help format a new rural travel guide by Bushducks. You can find the questionnaire here.
Be informed when this site is updated: |