Nick Larter, MBA
(Technology), B.Sc. (Hons) - Technology Troubleshooter
- consultancy and
management services in new technologies -
____________________________________________________________________________________________
- By air -
Shannon*
- Ireland's second airport, is located in South Clare on the
Shannon estuary about 25km from Ennis. Venerable Shannon -it
recently celebrated it's 50th. anniversary - took over in the
1940's from the flying boat haven at Foynes, on the opposite bank
of the river, as Europe's then premier transatlantic air terminal.
Credited with the invention of Irish coffee and duty free, by the
1970's Shannon's most interesting role was as the transatlantic
stopover point for Aeroflot, to which end the Soviet Union
established its own fuel depot at the airport, which was serviced
by Soviet tankers. In recent years Shannon has been somewhat in
search of a role, with a few short haul routes serving Ireland and
the UK - Dublin, Belfast, London Heathrow (all Aer
Lingus), London
Gatwick (AB Shannon), London Stansted, Birmingham (both shared by
Aer
Lingus and AB
Shannon) and Manchester (British
Airways). Long
haul Shannon routes currently serve the USA (Boston, New York,
Newark and Chicago), Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. On arriving at
Shannon, there are numerous car hire options (expect to pay as
much as £IR200 per week in the high season) and regular bus
services to Ennis and Limerick.
[*nb:
the Shannon Web Site requires the 'Shockwaveflash' plug-in in
order to browse it. The Discover
site provides an alternative source of information about
Shannon.]
Galway regional airport,
on the edge of Galway city, is also a reasonably convenient
destination for travellers to Co. Clare. It has several
Aer
Lingus commuter
flights a day to/from Dublin;
- By ferry - all Ireland's
major ferry ports are on the East or South of the country, leaving
a road or rail journey of several hours to get to Co. Clare. The
Cork ferry port is the closest. A number of travel deals exist
with combined ferry and car, bus or rail options and there are
ferry connections between Ireland and the UK and France. The
Discover
site has up to date ferry information for all companies and
destinations. Home Pages dealing with specific ferry companies
include the following:-
Brittany
Ferries
Irish
Ferries
Swansea-Cork
Ferries
- By car - the N18
connecting Limerick and Galway passes through the heart of Clare
via the county town Ennis, which is located approximately 50km
from each of these two cities;
- By train - there are
about 2 Iarnród
Éireann
trains a day in each direction between Ennis and Limerick. Some of
these are through to/from Dublin. The journey time Dublin to Ennis
is around 3.5 hours;
- By bus - Ennis bus
station, adjacent to the railway station, is a busy hub for
Bus
Éireann
services to/from most parts of Ireland;
- Accommodation - Co.
Clare is a popular tourist destination. Bord
Fáilte
lists around 50 hotels of all standards in the county as well as
many other types of accommodation. Home Pages dealing with
specific accommodation in Co. Clare include the following:-
Ardree
B&B, Newmarket on Fergus
Ballinalacken
Castle Hotel, Lisdoonvarna
Cannville
B&B, Lisdoonvarna
Dromoland
Castle Hotel, Newmarket on Fergus
Great
Southern Hotel, Shannon
Gregans
Castle Hotel, Ballyvaughan
Irish
Court Hotels (for Auburn Lodge Hotel & Queen's Hotel,
Ennis)
Kincora
Hall Hotel, Killaloe
Lisheen
House B&B, Kilkee
Old
Parochial House B&B, Kilrush
Smyth
Village Hotel, Feakle
