Sporting Activities
County Clare and other neighbouring counties have a wide range of local activities to suit your requirements. A list of some of the more popular activities are listed below:-
Golf
The coastal grandeur and unspoiled greenery of County Clare easily lends itself to the relaxing game of golf. Golfers visiting Clare can test their skills on the windswept dunes of a championship links, challenge the water traps and other hazards of new courses created by some of the world's most famous designers. Or just play a relaxing eighteen holes on mature parkland of tree lined fairways. You will find no less that 34 quality courses in the whole of the Shannon Region, each one uniquely challenging with a character that is visually exciting and with golfing facilities to cater to all levels of golfer from the friendly fourball to the international professional.
All the region's golf courses are easily accessible, uncrowded and each club welcomes visitors. Tee-time bookings at East Clare Golf Club or one of the other 16 local courses can be arranged at the resort reception by the trip organiser.
To obtain additional information on the course and facilities at East Clare Golf Club, see www.eastclare.com.
Fishing
County Clare is dominated by water. The area is dotted with lakes and cress-crossed with rivers-created by gin-clear babbling streams as they descend beautifully scenic mountainsides on their meandering journeys through rolling countryside and valleys to meet the mighty Atlantic Ocean along a coastline of sandy beaches, rocky ledges, shingle and cliff-face.
This is the scenario for great fishing, a watery kingdom offering the full spectrum of angling. Wild Atlantic salmon returning to the rivers and streams of their birth to propagate new life for the species. Brown trout to challenge the most skillful fly fisher. Hard fighting pike that tail-walk in defiance. Shoals of well-conditioned coarse fish lurking in the eerie depths of rivers and lakes. This illustrious group of species includes bream, tench, perch, rudd, roach and hybrids. All these can be fished either from riverbank or boat.
The Shannon Region has long been one of Ireland's great fishing destinations and in recent years this watery kingdom has been transformed into a fisherman's wonderland. An on-going programme of fishery enhancement has helped improve the habitat and access to waters while maintaining the natural splendour of the wild.
The Shannon is the largest river in Ireland and is 386km (240 miles) long from its source at the Shannon Pot in the foothills of the Cuilcagh Mountains in Co Cavan to its estuary below Limerick City. This important river and its tributaries drain about one fifth of the area of Ireland. Throughout its journey to the sea the riverscape is ever changing, widening and narrowing over and over again, and leaving in its wake numerous islands, backwaters, pools, bends and quiet bays, all the most likely haunts for fish. It's great length and tributaries form an enormous and richly diverse fishery, which holds great stocks of a wide variety of fish including salmon, brown trout, bream, tench, rudd, roach, hybrids, eels, pike and perch.
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Game Angling
Salmon, Sea Trout, Brown Trout. The big salmon and grilse waters are; the River Shannon and its tributaries; the Mulcair, a fishery managed by the ESB; the River Fergus; the River Feale - one of the finest sea trout fisheries in the country; the Maigue and the Doonbeg rivers.
There are many good brown trout waters including the River Fergus and many of its lakes - the most popular ones being Lough Inchiquin, Dromore, Ballyline and Lickeen Loughs. Lough Derg, the Brosna and Little Brosna rivers, the Nenagh River, the Suir and Maigue systems are also good brown trout waters.
Coarse Angling
Bream, Tench, Rudd, Roach, Pike. There is excellent angling for all species of coarse fish, on the River Shannon and its largest lake, Loug Derg, and on the East Clare lakes. These fisheries are well serviced for bank and boat fishing.
Some of the lakes on the Fergus system are especially good for pike and perch. Among the most popular are Ballycullinan, Cullaun, Tullymacken, Ballyteighe and Ballyalla. The village of Corofin is at the centre of this system and all lakes are within an eight mile radius.
Sea Angling
All species of sea fish. The coastline of Clare, North Kerry, and both shorelines of the Shannon Estuary are prominent shore angling waters. The quality of deep sea angling off this coastline is also very good. Charter boats operation off the Clare coast cover an area from Galway Bay south to the north of the River Shannon and include such 'hot spot' fishing grounds as the waters off the Cliffs of Moher and around the Aran Islands. Deep-sea charter boats operate out of Ballyvaughan, Liscannor and Kilrush ports in Clare.
Eel Angling
The River Shannon, its tributary the River Fergus, its largest lake, Lough Derg, and the East Clare lakes are among the top big eel waters in Ireland. Throughout the River Shannon from Shannonbridge downstream to the Shannon Estuary, there are many backwaters, inlets and bays which are easily accessible for bank fishing and these waters offer good eel angling.
Horse Riding
Exploring beautiful countryside by horse is a stimulating experience and Clare offers a variety of options enabling you to wind down and enjoy life at a leisurely pace. The geography of the area and its amazing diversity of landscapes are ideally suited to horse riding throughout the entire year. Mountain trails, gently sloping hillsides, forest paths, deserted beaches, all compete in popularity.
There are many riding centres, which can meet the requirements from the beginner to the experienced horse-master alike. Ranging from tuition to trail riding and trekking through wooded parklands, rides along forest paths and quiet country lanes through scenic and historic countryside, to riding a cross-country jump course for the more experienced riders. Hunting can be organised in conjunction with local hunts, including the Clare Hunts.
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Walking & Hiking
County Clare has a highly organised network of walking routes that take you from one end of the county to the other through vastly differing landscapes. There are three charted signposted routes - the Burren Way, the Mid Clare Way and the East Clare Way.
The East Clare Way is a long distance walking route, that can be taken in six stages and which travels across the mysterious and secretive landscape of inland County Clare. It is a walk through abundant heritaged lands and waterscape giving access to a countryside of great richness and variety. You will meander along old berried hedgerowed country lanes and boreens, climb up heather covered hills via bog roads, traverse dense forests and cross lowland bogs.
Walkers will appreciate the many and varied colour schemes produced by the abundant wild flowers along the route and you will never find yourself too far from water. Whether that is Lough Derg and the River Shannon - the artery of Ireland - to the east, the myriad of small lakes in the Tulla lowlands or a rushing mountain stream. You will encounter the real Irish rural life of small farms where every skill is still practised in order to eke a living from the land. Our ancestors lived here too and there is a dense web of archaeological sites and history reaching back over the centuries including several interesting monastic remains and old churches.
The stages to the East Clare Way vary in length from 20 to 30 km's, stretching from Whitegate north west of Lough Derg to Killaloe, then onto Broadford and O'Callaghansmills. The next stage takes you to Tulla, then onto Feakle and finally Flagmount back to Whitegate.
There can be few places to compare with East Clare for the opportunity to enjoy the rich cultural heritage of traditional music, singing, dancing, story-telling, drama, poetry, arts and crafts. Enjoy.
Cycling
Within the Shannon region, there is a feast of great cycling options through a series of scenic routes that traverse quiet country roads and byways of East Clare and the perimeter of Lough Derg, the Burren, West Clare, Loop Head Peninsula – all in Co. Clare. A single day’s trip can encompass uplands and lowlands, golden sands and rugged sea cliffs, busy resorts and quiet hamlets with a plethora of stone-age monuments and an exciting panoply of history and culture.