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| Daniel O'Connell "The Liberator" looks over Ennis |
Staying at the excellent Bunratty Manor Hotel opposite the
great Norman Bunratty Castle and Folk Park we enjoyed some great quality time
with old friends celebrating a 25th wedding anniversary and 50th
birthday. I had introduced, somewhat haphazardly, the couple in question and not
only are they still talking after 25 years but, very occasionally they both
still talk to me.
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Bunratty Castle with the famous Durty Nelly's Pub   |
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| Bunratty Manor Hotel |
The Monday we were flying back to London from Shannon Airport we went
into one of my favourite Irish Towns, Ennis, the County seat of Clare which over
the years I have come to regard as my adopted county. Ennis is a place of some
charm and vitality. It has an international transatlantic airport on its
doorstep and a dynamic new town of Shannon;
It has the major City of Limerick with all its facilities
and University a mere 20 minutes’ drive away and to the north and west it has the many facets
of Co. Clare with its wild Atlantic coast, surreal Burren landscape and the expanse
of Lough Derg overlooked by the mountains of East Clare.
Ennis has great character in its narrow streets, alleyways,
courtyards and market squares. Its famous narrow streets are dotted with a host
of unusual shops and lively bars and restaurants. Ennis is regarded as the
heartland of Irish music; look out for superb nightly sessions, as well as some
very lively annual festivals. Ennis is an ideal centre for touring around Co.
Clare and is conveniently located close to Shannon Airport. Whether you’d like
to banquet at 15th century Bunratty Castle, visit the cities of Galway or
Limerick or explore the wonderful Atlantic coastline and Cliffs of Moher,
everything is a short drive from Ennis.
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| Market Ennis |
It is no mean town and has had important political
associations in Irish history. It was the seat of the O’Briens of Thomond descendants of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland and an important monastic centre with the still impressive ruins of Ennis Priory and Friary.Two of Ireland’s greatest parliamentarians
Daniel O’Connell (The Liberator) and Éamon de Valera represented the constituency.
Ennis also has important associations with Charles Stewart Parnell who launched the Boycott movement against rapacious Landlords at a mass meeting in Ennis. Speaking at Ennis on 19 September 1880, Parnell declared :
“When a man takes a farm from which another had been evicted you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him, you must shun him in the streets of the town, you must shun him in the shop, you must shun him in the fairgreen and in the marketplace, and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in a moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his country as if he were the leper of old, you must show your detestation of the crime he has committed”.
This type of “moral Coventry” was used in the case of Captain Boycott, a County Mayo land agent, who was isolated by the local people until his nerve broke. This led to a new word entering in to the English language, boycotting.
Like all medieval towns it centred on a market square with
the principal streets (Abbey St., O'Connell St., High St/Parnell St.) radiating
off it. The market moved at some stage to the present 'market', behind Parnell
St., and is held on Saturday mornings. The original square is the site of a
column with a statue of Daniel O'Connell, who, by being elected M.P. for Clare
in 1828 forced the passing of the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 and the
removal of most of the remaining disabilities under which Catholics had
suffered since the Penal Laws.
The other notable public representative associated with
Clare is Éamon de Valera ('Dev') who became M.P. for Clare in 1917 and
represented the county until 1959; his statue stands on a limestone plinth in
front of the Court House, a substantial building with a stylish portico erected
in 1852. The town museum, in a converted church in Harmony Row, with the town
library in a modern extension at the back, is named in his honour, and
contains, as well as material associated with de Valera, an eclectic collection
of objects of local interest, such as a door from one of the Armada ships. The
library has won European prizes for its excellence and is one of the first town
libraries in the country. Coincidentally, the town and county were later represented in the Dáil (Parliament) by de Valera's grandaughter, Síle DeValera.
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| Ennis Pro-Cathedral |
Ennis also has important associations with Charles Stewart Parnell who launched the Boycott movement against rapacious Landlords at a mass meeting in Ennis. Speaking at Ennis on 19 September 1880, Parnell declared :
“When a man takes a farm from which another had been evicted you must shun him on the roadside when you meet him, you must shun him in the streets of the town, you must shun him in the shop, you must shun him in the fairgreen and in the marketplace, and even in the place of worship, by leaving him alone, by putting him in a moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his country as if he were the leper of old, you must show your detestation of the crime he has committed”.
This type of “moral Coventry” was used in the case of Captain Boycott, a County Mayo land agent, who was isolated by the local people until his nerve broke. This led to a new word entering in to the English language, boycotting.
Parnell also visited Ennis to turn the first sod of the West
Clare Railway, now sadly closed. (When the song writer Percy Ffrench travelled
on this, which was noted for its easy-going attitude to time, he was inspired
to write his famous song, 'Are you right there Michael?', a comic ditty with a
catchy tune mocking the casual way in which the trains were run. The railway
took exception to this and sued him for defamation.) The railway ran from Ennis
to Kilrush, with branch lines to Moyasta and Corofin. It survived as part of
CIE (the State railway company) until the sixties, when sadly it was shut down
for economic reasons.
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Dáithaí C with Jackie Whelan, owner of the restored West
Clare Railway and
locoman Richard Gair in front of the magnificently
restored Slieve Callan,
the 120 year old locomotive which used to stand on a
plinth in front of
Ennis Railway Station.
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| Queens Hotel which is mentioned in James Joyce's "Ulysses" |
Ennis was strategically built where the River Fergus forked north
of its estuary which flows into the mouth of the River Shannon and came
together forming an island. In fact, Ennis takes its name from Inis, the Irish
word for island. Because it never had town walls it became a location for many
Catholic merchants from Limerick when Catholics were forbidden to reside in the
walled towns by the Penal Laws, and much of its past prosperity is attributable
to this influx. Today it is still
a merchant town with many independent
retailers, bars famous for their traditional music and many good restaurants
supported by the tourist industry and staffed by graduates of the famous
Shannon School of Catering. Much of the character of the town derives from
these small businesses and I’m glad to say many of the original shop fronts
have been preserved, restored or improved.
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| Ennis Friary |
A really good guide to the layout and history of the town is
to be found on the superb map of Ennis & Clarecastle which is available
from True North Mapping. The full-colour map covers all of the new housing in
the area, together with all of the new bypass roads and road changes over the
past few years. At a scale of 1:6000 each house in the town can be identified
together with many commercial buildings and items of local and tourist
interest. Significant items of local history from the port at Clarecastle to
the old mill on Mill Road have been included and cover the period from the
founding of the town to more recent events.
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| Cruise's Pub |
The map is available at a cost of €8.95 from The Ennis
Bookshop, Scéal Eile & Abbey Newsagents in the town. Laminated copies are
available from the publishers True North Mapping at €19.95.
Also on the website there are four free downloadable
Historic Maps of Ennis with marked town walks which are also signposted on the
ground – a great way to get to know this charming town and discover the sights.
See the True North Mapping website;
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