Day 11 – Cliffs of Moher and the Burren

Adare Trinitarian Abbey

There are quite a few stops on today’s agenda, so we got an earlier start – 8am instead of the usual 9am. Really didn't help that much in the end as the day was too packed with things to do. We drove about two hours to the small village Adare. It has colorful homes, shops and the Adare Trinitarian Abbey. The abbey was once Ireland’s only Trinitarian abbey and it was founded in 1230. The Trinitarians are a catholic religious order dating back to the time of crusades. After its suppression during the Reformation, the abbey fell into ruin and in 1811 is was converted into the present-day Catholic parish church.

Thatched Roof Shop in Adare

The church is right across the street from some thatched roof houses.

Cliffs of Moher

Another hour and a half drive in the rain and we arrived at the Cliffs of Moher. These cliffs are one of Ireland’s most amazing natural wonders and I’ll just have to let the picture describe the beauty. Fortunately for us the rains stopped just in time for us to take the walk out to see them and didn’t start again until we were headed to the car from the visitor center. So far this has been the only day with any significant rain and it really hasn’t impacted our touring in any way.

Instead of eating lunch in the crowded visitor center, we drove about 20 minutes to the tiny town of Kilfenora and ate at Vaughn’s Pub. The pub food in Ireland can be a bit basic but it is always very tasty and substantial. Guinness Stew, sandwiches, etc. I had the bacon and cabbage, which I think we would call ham and cabbage. In a pub everything is served with potatoes.

Celtic Cross (Kilfenora)

After lunch we went to the Burren Centre (Burren is pronounced like “burn”) to learn about the history of the area. The Burren region is extremely rocky because a glacier in the last ice age gathered up the rocks and deposited them here. There is no other place in Ireland quite like it. There are literally limestone rocks everywhere, so much so that the land is only good for grazing cattle who can eat the grass that grows between the rocks.

Kilfenora also has an ancient ruined cathedral and couple of very old Celtic crosses.

Poulnabrone Dolmen

We had also planned a visit to see a sheepdog demo that they put on a few more miles into the Burren from Kilfenora but we were a bit late and the rain made it impossible, so we skipped it. Instead we stopped to see the Poulnabrone Dolmen which was very close by. The Poulnabrone Dolmen is a portal tomb - one of approximately 172 located all across Ireland – and this one is in the Burren. It dates back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC and 2900 BC. It was also raining there so just a quick stop for some photos before heading to Galway for the night.