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The Burren
(Boireann, or "rocky land") is a huge plateau of
limestone and shale that covers over a hundred square miles
of northwest Clare, a highland shaped by a series of cliffs,
terraces and expanses of limestone paement, with little to
punctuate the view. Bleak and grey, the northern reaches of
the Burren can come as a shock to anyone associating Ireland
with all things lush and erdant. It's an extraordinary
landscape of stark rock, fading lower greven fields, and
aboe all the sky and the ocean. Its cliffs and terraces
lurch towards the sea like huge steps of wind-pocked pumice.
Bone white in sunshine, in the rain the rock becomes
darkened and metallic, the cliffs and canyons blurred by
mists. A harsh place, barely capable of sustaining human
habitation, it was aptly summed up in the words of
Cromwell's sureyor Ludlow: "saage land, yielding neither
water enough to drown a man, nor a tree to hang him, nor
soil enough to bury". There are no sweet rolling fields
here, but stick with it and its fascination emerges - cruel
and barren as it is, there's a raw beauty about the place
with its exceptional combination of light, rock and water.
In recent centuries, the Burren has supported a sparse
population, liing, like most of the west of Ireland, in
harsh poverty. It was to this land, west of the Shannon,
that Cromwell droe the dispossessed Irish Catholics after
his campaign of terror. Few could surie for long in such
country. The area's lack of appeal to centuries of
speculators and colonizers greedy to cream the fat off
Ireland's lusher pastures has meant that eidence of many of
the Burren's earlier inhabitants has remained. The place has
over sixty Stone Age (3000-2000 BC) burial monuments,
the most common types being wedge-shaped tombs, cairns and
dolmens; over four hundred Iron Age ring forts (500
BC-500 AD), which were defensie dwellings; and numerous
Christian churches, monasteries, round towers and
high crosses. Amongst the most eocatie of the Christian
ruins is orcanroe Abbey, just outside Bell Harbor, and there
are fine high crosses at Kilfenora.
You can get to the area by taking a Bus Éireann connection
from stations at Galway, Limerick or Ennis. There's a direct
bus serice from Limerick and Galway to Doolin and in
summer at least one bus a day from Limerick passes through
Ennistymon and Lisdoonarna, and at least one a day connects
Galway with Lisdoonarna. To see the Burren's archeological
and ecclesiastical sites, it's best to go by car or bike
(bike rental is aailable in the main centers of Doolin and
Ballyaughan); to get to know its landscape and flowers, go
on foot. For either of these, the excellent Tim Robinson
map, The Burren (aailable in tourist offices,
good bookshops or directly from him at Roundstone, County
Galway) is usefully detailed and will make finding sites
easy, though it does not show contours. For walking, the
Ordnance Surey map number 51 (1:50,000) is ideal - and also
covers the Aran Islands. There are two north-south routes
across the Burren that are of particular archeological
interest ; these run from Bell Harbor to Killinaboy and
from Ballyaughan to Leamaneh Castle. If you're doing a lot
of walking, a compass is a good idea as there's a shortage
of easy landmarks. You're allowed to walk more or less where
you want, though do be aware that there are a large number
of bulls in the fields. A good start might be to follow the
Burren Way. |
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