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Book a self drive or rail package by April 30thJust before sunset, we discover a beach in the town of Ballyvaughan that is covered with rocks resembling prehistoric bones. They are exquisitely shaped by thousands of years of water. They are of the scale of dinosaur bones, the skulls and spines of ancient life embedded in the sand, the sea pooling in their socket-like crevices. We have stumbled upon a unique land.
In The Burren, a region in N. Clare, it is said that life springs from these rocks. The name Burren comes from the Irish bhoireann which means stony place. The remarkable limestone rocks are the foundation of this region, their unusual shapes formed by melting ice-age glaciers. Below the porous rocks, underground rivers fed by new rain have etched away over 60 miles of caves and tunnels. Not all of these caves have been explored, for The Burren has the most extensive caves in Ireland. Above the rocks, the remnants of Neolithic man dot the barren land; rock tombs, deserted villages, and stone-ring forts are signs of human presence dating back 6,000 years.
Ailwee Cave was discovered in 1944 by Jack McGann. The story goes that he was walking his dog, and the dog spotted a rabbit and took off after it, chasing it into a hole. The dog did not come out, and Jack went home to fetch some candles. He went into the rabbit hole Alice-style, and what he found was a type of geologic wonderland. With tours every day beginning at 10AM, the Ailwee Caves are a good tour for caving novices. Bring a sweater because it's cold for humans in there. The caves are a steady temperature of 10 degrees Celcius year round. For prehistoric bear, this was a perfect temperature; they discovered these caves long before Jack and used them as their hibernation dens 900 years ago. Check the website www.ailweecave.ie for more details about visiting the caves. For more information about caving in Ireland, a useful website is www.cavingireland.org.
Poulnabrone Dolmen is a megalithic portal tomb built during the Neolithic or Stone Age. It is located near Carron, just off the R480. Open daily from April 27th to September 30th and other times by appointment. It was built as a permanent, sacred home for the dead, and is one of over 150 dolmens in Ireland.
The region is a playground for folks interested in archaeology and geology, with a plethora of wonders. A good rambler's map to this area is published by Tireolas and can be found at the Ailwee Caves giftshop. Even without a map, one can see the limestone rocks in use today to build stone walls around grazing and farm land, a technique that has not changed much since ancient times. The Burren is a place where the past cradles the present and from this bedrock new life forms.
Written by Liz O' Malley - Summer of Travel 2007