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Ireland Links |
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For more than half a millennium, millions of people have journeyed from every corner of the world to Ireland, for reasons as varied as there have been visitors. In medieval times many came for spiritual
enlightenment, but in more recent times, to enjoy one of the world's really superb, modern-day holiday destinations. The Shannon Region, a vibrant community on the west coast, exudes the true heart-beat
of Ireland, and extends the warmest of Irish welcomes to all its visitors. This brief introduction to all the things to do, see and enjoy, gives a flavour of what to expect, and there is so much more!
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Limerick - Riverside City
A modern university city, on the doorstep of Shannon
Airport, is built on the foundations of a Viking
settlement and straddling the River Shannon. It has
a passion for sport and choral singing, a lively culture,
arts and social scene, the city which provided the
backdrop for Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize winning “Angela's Ashes” and its movie sequel, is home
to Richard Harris and the Cranberries rock band.
A revitalised waterfront adds new zest to the centre
which has fine restaurants, lively pubs (including
many sports bars), a fashionable shopping precinct,
beautiful parks and great entertainments. Its
colourful history is evident everywhere, and its prime
landmark, King John's Castle, in the heart of the
medieval quarter, dates from the 13th century and
makes a formidable medieval statement. www.ShannonRegionTourism.ie/Limerick |
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Ennis Town
'National Tidy Towns' award winner 2005, this
unspoilt, provincial market town, dating from the
13th century, combines the charm of a centre, whose
narrow streets give a medieval atmosphere, with a
vibrant community of young people and an easy going
air. Intimate old shops with neatly maintained shop
fronts grace the narrow streets, which include
bookshops, restaurants and cafes of all kinds, and
dozens of pubs in ancient surroundings - many of
them offering traditional Irish music sessions. Recent
years have seen the development of a most delightful
riverside walk, with contemporary stone
sculptures at strategic points and
with a great water meadow where
geese and ducks dabble. www.visitennis.ie |
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Nenagh Town
A bustling market town amidst the rich agricultural
countryside of north Tipperary, which epitomises the
beauty and heritage of rural-Ireland. It's an interesting
and atmospheric place with a vibrant shopping area
and some fine historic buildings forming a formidable
cluster of great architecture. Its hinterland, stretching
eastwards to Roscrea, was one of the great bastions
of Ireland's monastic period, which is evident today in
many fine monuments to that era. Here too is
expression of Irish people's passion for games; the
town of Thurles being the birthplace of the 1884
revival of the ancient Gaelic games of hurling and
football. www.ShannonRegionTourism.ie/Nenagh
Birr Town
Turning back the clock to the elegance of the
Georgian age, Birr has stayed true to 18th and 19th
century character with its fine tree-lined malls and
avenues around formal and well-planned blocks of
easy on the eye street vistas. Birr developed around
Birr Castle estate and the Parsons family, the Earls
of Ross who for fourteen generations have lent
their invention, innovation and collections
to the advantage of the town. The town
is central to the rolling pasturelands and
peatlands of Ireland's midlands and its
surrounding area is the waterways
crossroads of the country, with all kinds
of watersports and angling among
the top outdoor pursuits.
www.ShannonRegionTourism.ie/Birr |
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