Shannon Estuary Way

Shannon Estuary Way
a virtual trek along the Shannon Estuary shoreline and hinterland
Waveprints
author: williamjokeeffe@gmail.com

Ferry Bridge (1787) carrying the N69 over the Maigue, and gateway to West Limerick
photo: Kildimo Community Council
The mouth of the Maigue – Carrigogunnell in the distance

the keep, Carrigogunnell

upside-down staircase, Carrigogunnell, a result of the demolition by gunpowder in 1691
as the upper estuary shoreline would have looked in 1691
[Healy&Hickey, Irish Geography 38, Jan.2005]

spirit level
flooded polder at Mellon-Ringmoylan, new year 2016
dyke ridge at Ringmoylan, looking to Woodcock Hill

the pavilion at Mellon House
(a welcome sight when glimpsed from the remoteness of Rinekirk Point)
photo: Windsor Clive International
Shannongrove House, Ringmoylan, early 1700's
(the river bank would once have lapped the lawn)
photo: A. O'Ciardha

moving inland: Dromore castle and lough, 2km west of Kildimo, off the N69
tower house ruin at Bolane, 1km west of Kildimo, off the N69

Killeen church at Cowpark, Kilcornan, just off the N69
note the unusual built-in bell cote (it allowed the bell to be rung from inside)
carved holy-water stoup and chancel window

Blue Lough, Curraghchase
Glenisca Lough, Curraghchase

Yellow Pool, Glenisca
Winter sedge, Curraghchase

Halloween Dusk: Knockfierna and Liskennett Hill, from Curraghchase woods
Evening Profile: Knockfierna, from the terrace at Curraghchase House

Milltown Lake, off the N69, north (1km west of Cowpark)
old Shannon Banks, near Bushyisland dyke

Bushyisland dyke, W of Ringmoylan: looking westwards to Beagh Castle in the distance
Bushy Island (the island gives its name to the townland)

Waller's Island (above) – an eroded glacial kame, off Bushyisland dyke
Bushy Island, western profile
Bushy Island sunset

views off Bushyisland dyke

Beagh piers and the view to Slieve Bernagh

Beagh Castle, northern elevation
Beagh Castle, western elevation
Ballinvoher foreland
Sliabh Bearnach under snow, from Ballinvoher

lag trá, Ballinvoher
sponge fossils, Ballinvoher

shingle beach, Ballinvoher
Rineanna Point, from Ballinvoher
Coney Island in the Fergus estuary, from Ballinvoher

Aughinish jetty and Beeves Rock lighthouse, from Ballinvoher Point
Ballycanauna Point and Aughinish, from Ballinvoher West

Ballycanauna Point at dusk, from Ballysteen Quay
wetland shore at Ballysteen Quay

deep end, Ballysteen Quay
bollard guard, Ballysteen Quay

Glenagauran shore, Ballysteen townland
Glenagauran Point: creek in foreground marks the boundary of the barony of Kenry

Gortnagranagher wetlands
Gortnagranagher Lough
This miniscule lough is tucked away in these wetlands at Moig North, midway between Askeaton
and Ballysteen. The name is intriguing: Loch Ghort na gCrannchur = the lough of the field of the
casting of lots. Gambling seems improbable for such a location, but crann-chur piseogach
(Dineen), the divination of piseogs, or spells, is much more tempting, and one can well imagine
our Celtic forebears casting offerings to spirit world into the waters at this spot.

Courtbrown Point, near the mouth of the Deel
rock formation at the mouth of the Deel

Desmond earldom: castle and banqueting hall at Askeaton

Askeaton: mediaeval tower at St Mary's Church

Askeaton's Hellfire Club, one of Maurice Craig's Classic Irish Houses of the Middle Size (1976), a
volume now itself a classic and a collector's item. The building had two-storey Venetian windows,
on the north and south gables, which feature Craig praised especially. The north window survived
until recent years and might have been saved or even rebuilt, had the conservation works, now
apparently stalled, begun in time. The surviving fragment of the south window is visible in this
photo.

cloister at the Franciscan friary, Askeaton, upstream on the Deel estuary
crossing the Deel: Toomdeely mediaeval hall

wintering out, laid up boats at the Deel boatyard
Deel Boat Club marina: ruin of Shannonview House in the background

Holly Island inlet, Toomdeely West
Moreena Point, high water
Moreena Point, low water

Poulaweala inlet, Aughinish
Poulaweala Lough
Poulaweala salt pond

Foynes: Poultallin wood, Foynes Island sound
Foynes: reservoir above 'Árd an Óir'

Foynes: Poultallin strand, looking east
Foynes: Poultallin strand, looking west

tidal swell, Foynes Island sound
Foynes / Mount Trenchard: winter cascade on Boniska strand

greywacke stoup, Boniska strand
jetsam abstract, Boniska strand

woodland sump, Boniska strand

Mount Trenchard burial ground, Mary Spring-Rice gravestone inscription:
'the souls of the faithful are in God's hand'
Mount Trenchard burial ground: a Vere O'Brien memorial inscription,
the work of the Cork sculptor, Seamus Murphy

sunset over Mount Trenchard Point
offshore vista: Poultallin foreland to Mount Trenchard

A diversion inland: the 'Black Hag' nunnery at Oldabbey, Shanagolden
A much maligned lady, probably a religious recluse and herbalist;
cailleach dhubh, in any case, is an old term in Irish for a nun.

dovecote at Oldabbey

Loghill-Kilteery: Killacolla, view to Mountshannon wood
Killacolla: shell midden
Killacolla: springtime woods

Loghill-Kilteery: Hiphall Point
Glin and Labasheeda Bay, from Furry Wood

The splendid memorial shield of the last Knight of Glin
old Church of Ireland churchyard, Glin

study in blue and grey, Glin
vitrine, Glin

old hotel entrance door with cobweb fanlight, Glin
note the Art Nouveau relief plasterwork

grey wisteria, Glin
corbel console, Glin

the lie of the land

right-to-left: Tarbert- Glencloosagh Bay- Ardmore Point- Reenturk Point
from Glencloosagh Bay: Tarbert jetty

from Glencloosagh Bay: Tarbert and Moneypoint power stations

Colossi

Glencloosagh Bay, looking to Ardmore Point
Glencloosagh Bay, looking to the Clare shore

Glencloosagh Bay: the memorial at 'Mullally's Berth'

Ardmore Point

limestone pavement (Waveprints), Ardmore Point
WWII relic, Ardmore Point

remains of the 'Fort Shannon' battery, Ardmore Point: one of two gun emplacements
The escutcheon of the men who oversaw its construction:
7th Field Co., Corps of Engineers

command bunker
generator bunker (one of three)

searchlight remains (one of two – see the preceding 'relic')
Pillbox: note the rusticated stone-cladding camouflage

Ardmore Point from Ballylongford Bay
Ardmore heights from Reenturk Strand on Ballylongford Bay

Reenturk Strand
Reenturk Point
Ballylongford Bay, North Kerry

Saleen Creek & Quay, Ballylongford

Carrigafoyle from Saleen
Carrigafoyle Castle from Carrig Island

Carrig Island, Ballylongford Bay
(oddly, the property of Trinity College Dublin)
Carrig Island SE shore

Winter wetlands, Carrig Island

Brent Geese Flotilla, Carrig Island
Carrig Island lagoon

Carrig Island shoreline find (2014) – a late 19th cent. 'penny inkpot'
Poet's gate, Carrig Isle

Carrigafoyle Church (on the mainland), late 1400's
a curious hagioscope on the western gable end
a once graceful double-ogive stoup

Carrigafoyle Castle from the West
the ruin and collapse are the result of the Elizabethan bombardment in 1580

...the Shannon estuary remains a dynamic frontier between the river and the ocean, one of our last wildernesses
The quotation (italics added) is from the UCD School of Archaeology’s publication: 'People, place and time on the Shannon estuary'
in: Aidan O’Sullivan and others, Ancient life on the Shannon estuary, Dublin, RIA, 2001
The Shannon Estuary foreshore is largely inaccessible and without a contiguous and continuous system of countryside public footpaths. The
wilderness, as such, is none the worse for that, and a determined walker aided by close map reading may still enjoy any of the sights in the
foregoing photographs – leaving nothing but footprints and taking nothing except, perhaps, more photos of this magically atmospheric region.
For high-resolution full-screen photos and slide show option, go to: Shannon Estuary Trail – Wix.com