Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [313]
Halpin’s Townhouse Hotel ( 065-905 6032; www.halpinsprivatehotels.com; Erin St; s/d from €70/120; mid-Mar–mid-Nov; ) A smart Georgian town house has been turned into a plush 12-room hotel. Close to the centre, it eschews the salt-stained furnishings of many a beach-town place for a minimalist look. Residents enjoy the basement bar with its good wine list.
Eating & Drinking
Kilkee has a number of markets; in summer the ranks of eateries swell with several that win plaudits as far away as Dublin.
Pantry ( 065-905 6576; O’Curry St; meals €6-12; 8am-6pm) This seemingly simple caff is filled with surprises and treasure. The scones are plainly the best in Clare and pretty much everything else you order from the seemingly typical menu will have you going, ‘That’s the best…I ever had.’
Stella Maris ( 065-905 6455; O’Connell St; meals €10-25; noon-9pm) This popular hotel has a good menu of local seafood on offer through the day. Enjoy quality ocean salmon and shellfish or one of many daily specials in the bright and simple dining room or in the usually crowded pub.
Naughton’s Bar ( 065-905 6597; 46 O’Curry St; meals €10-25; kitchen 5-9.30pm) The terrace alone is enough to make Naughton’s a mandatory stop, but the food is even better. Fresh local produce and seafood combine for some mighty fine pub meals at this family-run place, and they’re further complemented by a good wine and beer selection.
Murphy Blacks ( 065-905 6854; The Square; mains €16-28; 5-9.30pm Wed-Sun Apr-Oct) How do you ensure that you’re getting the best fish? Go to a place owned by an ex-fisherman. This deservedly popular dinner spot is booked up solid night after night for its carefully crafted dishes. Tables outside are a summer-night treat.
Getting There & Away
Bus Éireann has one to two buses daily to Kilkee from Limerick (€11, two hours) and Ennis (€12.50, 1¼ hours). Both routes pass through Kilrush.
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KILKEE TO LOOP HEAD
While others are dodging sweater vendors at the Cliffs of Moher, discriminating travellers are coming here for coastal views that in many ways are more dramatic Click here.
The land from Kilkee south to Loop Head has subtle undulations that suddenly end in dramatic cliffs falling off into the Atlantic. It’s a windswept place with timeless striations of old stone walls. You can see literally for miles and there is a rewarding sense of escape from the mainstream. It’s good cycling country and offers coastal walks – which is just as well as there’s no public transport.
Carrigaholt
pop 100
On 15 September 1588, seven tattered ships of the Spanish Armada took shelter off Carrigaholt (Carraig an Chabaltaigh), a tiny village inside the mouth of the Shannon Estuary. One, probably the Anunciada, was torched and abandoned, sinking somewhere out in the estuary. Today Carrigaholt has one of the simplest and cutest main streets you’ll find. The substantial remains of a 15th-century McMahon castle with a square keep overlook the water.
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DETOUR: CLIFFS OF AMAZEMENT
On the south side of Kilkee’s bay, look for a sign that reads ‘Scenic Loop’; it’s an understatement. A narrow track curves south around the coast for 10km until it joins the R487, the Loop Head Rd. Along the way you will be struck by one stunning vista of soaring coastal cliffs after another. Some have holes blasted through by the surf, others have been separated from land and now stand out in the ocean as lonely sentinels. One even has an old house perched on top – how in the world did that get there and who built it? Plan on puttering along, zoning out staring at the sea and pausing for passing cows.
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To view resident bottlenose dolphins (there are more than 100 in the Shannon Estuary), head for Dolphinwatch ( 065-905 8156; www.dolphinwatch.ie; Carrigaholt; adult/child €24/12), next to the post office.