Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [284]
Adare Village Inn ( 061-251 7102; www.adarevillageinn.com; Main St; s/d from €45/60; ) Excellent-value rooms are cosy, come with a fruit basket and are dead centre in town near the crossroads and village hall.
Smithfield House ( 061-64114; gklowe@eircom.net; Croagh, Rathkeale; s/d €50/70; ) Some 4km west of Adare on the N21, this three-storey 1780 Georgian farmhouse has four comfy rooms and a bucolic farm setting. The main staircase is a vintage wonder. Be sure to pet the pony.
Berkeley Lodge ( 061-396 857; www.adare.org; Station Rd; r from €55-80; ) One of several modern B&Bs on Station Rd close to the village, this six-room house has TVs in the rooms, great breakfasts and welcomes early arrivals from Shannon Airport. It is a three-minute walk to the centre.
Dunraven Arms ( 061-396 633; www.dunravenhotel.com; Main St; s/d from €135/155; ) The high-class choice of Adare, this 1792 inn sits discreetly behind extensive plantings. All 86 rooms have a high standard of traditional luxury. The leisure centre boasts a pool and other watery delights.
Eating & Drinking
In summer you may have to book to beat the mobs, otherwise stroll Main St to choose what fancies. The iconic thatched cottages at the east entrance to town hold much dining joy.
Dovecot ( 061-396 449; Adare Heritage Centre, Main St; lunch €4-12; 9am-5pm) This bright and airy cafeteria packs ’em in for typical, but good, breakfast and lunch fare.
Seán Collins ( 061-396 400; Killarney Rd; meals €5-12) Adare’s most traditional pub – despite a recent refurbishment – has a good menu of pub favourites. On Monday there’s trad music (more often in summer).
Good Room Cafe ( 061-396 218; Main St; meals €6-12; 8am-5pm Mon-Sat) Where you’d go if you lived here, this is a bakery with excellent scones, soda bread and homemade jams. The soups, salads and sandwiches are better than you’d expect from the hackneyed thatched-cottage location.
Wild Geese ( 061-396 451; Main St; mains €20-30; 6.30-10pm Mon-Sat, Sun summer only) In a town where upmarket competition is downmarket fierce, this cottage-based bistro may be the winner. The ever-changing menu celebrates the best of Southwest Ireland’s foods, from scallops to sumptuous racks of lamb. The preparations are imaginative, the service genial and the wine list inspirational.
Bill Chawke Lounge Bar ( 061-396 160; Main St) There’s trad music every Thursday night and a singalong on Friday nights (or any other night that the pints loosen up the baritones). There’s a beer garden, too.
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DETOUR: SCENIC N69
Narrow and generally peaceful, the N69 road follows the Shannon Estuary west from Limerick for 65km to Listowel, County Kerry (Click here). You’ll enjoy some great views of the water and seemingly endless rolling green hills laced with stone walls. You’ll also discover a number of tiny heritage museums and gardens (most usually only open in the peak season). However, at Foynes there’s a major attraction in the Foynes Flying Boat Museum ( 069-65416; www.flyingboatmuseum.com; adult/child €9/5; 10am-6pm Apr-Oct, till 5pm Mar & Nov). From 1939 to 1945 this was the landing place for the flying boats that linked North America with the British Isles. Big Pan Am clippers – there’s a replica here – would set down in the estuary and refuel. The flights were often filled with wartime intrigue.
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Getting There & Away
Hourly Bus Éireann services link Limerick to Adare (€5, 25 minutes). Many continue on to Tralee (€16, 1¾ hours). Others serve Killarney (€16, 1¾ hours). Pick up a timetable from the tourist office or check at the bus stop.
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COUNTY TIPPERARY
Landlocked Tipperary boasts the sort of fertile soil that farmers dream of. There’s still an upper-crust gloss to traditions here. Local fox hunts are in full legal cry during the winter season and the villages can look like something out of the English shires. The central area of the county is low-lying, but