|
| |
|
ENNIS |
| |
|
|
| |
A bustling market town and the commercial capital of County Clare,
ENNIS has a pleasantly inconsequential air. Its handful of central lanes
lace together a nineteenth-century cathedral, a stout monument to Daniel
O'Connell and a medieval friary. You could probably walk from one side
of Ennis to the other in half an hour, and you can certainly see all it
has to offer in a single afternoon - but it's worth staying longer for
the plentiful traditional music. Ennis also makes an excellent base from
which to explore the church ruins and tower houses dotted about the
surrounding countryside, although you'll need your own transport as
public transport is minimal.
The Town
The finest monument in town, Ennis Friary , lies right in the historic
centre (guide/information service daily late May to late Sept
9.30am-6.30pm; tel 065/682 9100; £1/¬1.27; Heritage Card). It was
established by the O'Briens, Kings of Thomond, in 1242, but most of the
existing building dates from the fourteenth century. At that time, it
had three hundred and fifty friars and over six hundred pupils and was
considered the finest educational institution in Ireland for the clergy
and upper classes. In parts it remains striking: graceful lancet windows
fill the east end of the chancel, while adjacent convent buildings
include cloister ruins and a stoutly barrel-vaulted chapter house. There
is good sculpture, too: look out for the small square carving on the
jamb of the arch between the nave and transept, which shows a
half-length figure of Christ with his hands bound; the relief of Saint
Francis with cross-staff and stigmata at the east end of the nave; and
the carved corbels beneath the south tower showing the Virgin and Child
and an archbishop. The real sculptural highlight, however, is the
fifteenth-century MacMahon Tomb (now incorporated in the Creagh Tomb),
embellished with fine alabaster carvings of the Passion.
Despite the beauty of the friary, Ennis today seems more proud of its
later history, as capital of the unyielding "banner county" and a
bastion of Nationalism. A monument to Daniel O' Connell solidly
dominates the old, narrow streets that meet in O' Connell Square. In
1828, County Clare returned O' Connell to Westminster by such a huge
majority that he had to be allowed to take his seat, despite the fact
that he was a Catholic, which should have barred him at the time; he
went on to force through parliament the Catholic Emancipation Act. It
was in Ennis, too, that Parnell made his famous speech advocating the
boycott in the land agitations of the late nineteenth century. De Valera
was TD for the county from 1917 to 1959 (and Taoiseach for much of that
time) and is remembered in a memorial outside the courthouse.
As for other things to search out, the new Clare Museum alongside the
tourist office on Arthur's Row (June-Sept daily 9.30am-5.30pm; Oct-May
Mon-Fri 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.30pm; tel 065/682 3382; £3/¬3.81) is well worth
a visit, housing a large number of antiquities on loan from the National
Museum in Dublin. A permanent exhibition entitled the Riches of Clare
illustrates the story of this remarkably diverse county, encompassing
weaponry from the Bronze Age through to the IRA, Clare's links with the
Spanish Armada and the development of the submarine, and a number of
interesting letters and telegrams from Daniel O'Connell (seeking support
in the forthcoming election) and De Valera (the telegram that he sent
his wife on being elected to parliament). Also among the exhibits are: a
thirteenth-century bell from Corcomroe Abbey , and recently excavated
material from the Poulnabrone Dolmen including an arrow-pierced human
hipbone, arrow heads and beads. Ennis's cathedral , a nineteenth-century
building with a sharp spire, stands icy and grey at the far end of
O'Connell Street, somewhat at odds with the friendly atmosphere of the
town. A more enjoyable way to kill time in Ennis, however, is to wander
the ancient lanes that run from O'Connell Street to the old market place
(where a Saturday vegetable and livestock market is held), and from
Parnell Street down to the post office field, a riverside meadow right
in the town centre. You could also follow the river a short way up from
Woodquay to the newly renovated mill chase. Look out too for the
interesting modern sculpture around town. All in all though, once you
have seen the friary and museum, the most pressing reason to stick
around is to sample Ennis's pubs, renowned for traditional music, or to
get out into the Clare countryside.
It's worth considering taking a tour of the Burren from Ennis -
particularly if you are short of time and without transport. The tour
also takes in Coole Park and Kilmacduagh , and operates from June to
August departing the Temple Gate Hotel at 10.15am on Tuesday and
Thursday, and returning at around 5pm (tel 065/692 8234; £15/¬19.05).
|
| |
|
