This is a true hidden gem on any tours of Ireland. Try and take it in on any journey that takes you in this direction. The Oratory was built in 1182 at Killaloe. Killaloe is a beautifully situated spot at the southern tip of Lough Derg. It is a...
For 1500 years’ pilgrims have been beating a path to this remote stretch of water set in a barren landscape. In the middle of the lake is the small Station Island, which is covered with buildings and looks – from a distance at least –...
Killaloe is a river-side town beautifully situated at the southern end of Lough Derg and surrounded by the Arra Mountains, Slieve Bernagh and Glenmagalliagh. It is also the terminus of the Shannon cruiser which runs from Carrick-on-Shannon. A long narrow bridge of 13 arches spans...
Around AD440 St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland settled in this valley, where the rushing sound of the Bonet’s rapids and waterfalls fills the air. During the following 17 years he founded a Church, Monastery, and Nunnery, but little is left of the ancient ruins...
In the middle of Lough Derg is a solitary, uninhabited, 49 acre island whose atmosphere takes visitors back to the golden age of Irish Christianity. St Caimin founded a monastery here in the 7th century. It grew to be a large establishment, the well preserved...
County Clare is a peninsula on the grand scale, cut off on three of its four sides by Lough Derg, the Shannon estuary, and the Atlantic. It is linked with the rest of Munster by only half a dozen bridges, all of which are in...
The Lower Shannon As the mighty River Shannon tumbles down from Lough Derg, the last and largest of its lakes, to its deep estuary on the Atlantic coast, it provides a natural border for the three countries that surround its lower reaches – Limerick, Tipperary and...
In the middle of Lough Derg is a solitary, uninhabited, 49 acre island whose atmosphere takes visitors back to the golden age of Irish Christianity. St Caimin founded a monastery here in the 7h century. It grew to be a large establishment, he well-preserved remains...
Portumna is a market town and cruiser base at the head of Lough Derg. Portumna Castle , built in 1609 and destroyed by fire in 1826 , is under restoration. Near the castle demesne is Portumna Priory. Originally a Cistercian Church stood here but the present...
This little island where St. Caimin founded a monastery in the 7th century. Among the remains are five churches , a round tower , a hermit’s cell and the ‘Saint’s Graveyard’ , which contains inscribed slabs dating from the 8th to the 12th century. The...