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ADVENTURES IN IRELAND
WALKING THE
LOUGH
DERG
WAY
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PAGE 2
Photos ©
HOME AT FIRST |
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SECTION
1—KILLALOE TO THE ROUTE R494 LOOKOUT: |
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Killaloe is a pretty and
lively village, with a rich history and a Visitor Centre to promote it. Take the Killaloe
heritage walk to learn more about the importance of the Shannon waterway and the
town’s most famous son:
Brian Boru, High King of Ireland,
1002-1014. His palace of Kincora was probably sited upstream from the town—but is no
longer there. What still dates from Brian’s time is the thousand-year-old Oratory of
St. Lua at the top of the town.
a
LOOKING
FROM KILLALOE ACROSS
THE ANCIENT STONE BRIDGE TO BALLINA
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Nearer the river is equally old
Flannan’s Cathedral, although the original church was rebuilt to the current one in
thirteenth century. It’s home to a noteworthy Irish Romanesque doorway in its south
wall and a 5-day classical music festival every July. Killaloe is sleepy in the daytime,
but lively at night—come back to enjoy any of its several pubs featuring traditional
Irish music.
Crossing the Shannon east to Ballina village in Tipperary requires dodging cars on the
ancient thirteen-arched bridge with its six pedestrian |
ST.
FLANNAN'S CATHEDRAL, KILLALOE |
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The outrigger nets along
the south side of the bridge strain for eels, a local favorite food. |
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GOOSER'S
THATCHED RESTAURANT,
BALLINA. STOP IN FOR A DRINK.
COME BACK FOR A MEAL. |
One needn’t begin the walk in County Clare. You can readily park along the riverside
just outside of Ballina and pick up the trail there. And, if you wish to fortify
yourselves before walking, stop at Gooser’s, a top-notch thatched restaurant and pub
on the south side of Ballina.
The Lough Derg Way starts climbing the Arra
Mountains as it leaves Ballina, and, by the time the trail reaches Tountinna
(map point 2elevation 462m/1520ft) it has gained a quarter mile of
altitude. Slate was quarried up here one hundred years ago.
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One thousand years ago Brian Boru’s
warrior queen oversaw the slaughter of a wedding party from the rival Irish Kingdom of
Leinster (think Dublin and eastern Ireland) who were caught somewhere on these heights
after having dared to cross into Brian’s Kingdom of Munster on their way to a
wedding.
Exactly where the Graves of the Leinstermen (map point 3)
are remains as elusive as why they were attending a wedding in Munster. The
"graves" you may see on the hilltop are either slabs left over
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from slate mining or the remains
of a 3,000-year-old Bronze Age burial mound.
With outstanding views across the lake and to the mountains of County Clare, the Lough
Derg Way now turns northwest and descends all the way back down to the lakeside, crossing
the R494—the Ballina-Nenagh road—near an overlook and picnic place along the
road. For those wanting to do the Lough Derg Way in thirds, this picnic Lookout on the
R494 makes a perfect end point for the lower third.
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LOUGH
DERG VIEWED FROM THE
TRAIL ON TOUNTINNA MOUNTAIN. |
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SECTION 2—R494
LOOKOUT TO GARRYKENNEDY: |
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CASTLETOWN
CHURCHYARD,
WITH A RUINED CASTLE TOWER
IN THE TREES BEYOND. |
Below the road, the path crosses lush dairy land and heads for the lake, passing by the
Castletown Graveyard (map point 4) on its way. The churchyard exhibits numerous elaborate
markers of a mixed congregation of decedents. This old churchyard served both a
pre-Reformation Catholic church and the later stone Protestant Church of Ireland that lies
in ruins on the site. Remnants of an old tower fortification—once home to an
O’Brien of Arra, and later altered into a manor house—are seen on the right.
Staying
near the shore now, the Lough Derg Way enters the Castlelough Woods (map
point 5), |
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with a mix of trees and wild flowers, and 1-2 miles of circular nature trails on the
former deer park of the old estate.
THE
LOUGH DERG WAY FOLLOWS THIS FARM LANE ALONG THE
LOUGH NORTH OF CASTLELOUGH AND SOUTH OF GARRYKENNEDY.
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