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Day 10:

Poulnabrone Dolmen - Corofin - Blackhead Bay

Go to the Poulnabrone Dolmen, built over 5000 years ago, one of the best-known of all Irish dolmens. The thin capstone sits on two 6 feet high portal stones to create a chamber in a 30 feet low cairn. The eastern portal stone was replaced in 1985, following a discovery that it was unfortunately cracked; excavations during the repair showed that this site dated back to about 2500 BC.

A number of grave goods were found in the tomb : a polished stone axe, two stone disc beads, a perforated bone pendant, part of a bone pin, two quartz crystals, flint and chert arrowheads and scrapers, and over 60 shreds of coarse pottery. This probably involved a ritual and reveal an exact planning, but the purpose remains unknown.

Visit the quiet and friendly village of Corofin, on the southern fringes of the Burren. Steeped in folklore, music, song and dance, Corofin is one of the many tourist gems in North Clare. Nestling in the heart of the Clare lake lands, on the banks of the River Fergus with the Burren nearby, Corofin is the gateway to a most distinctive and dramatic landscape.

There you will get the chance to see the Clare Heritage Centre. The province of Munster suffered greatly from emigration over the last two hundred years. Between the years 1850 and 1880 an estimated 112,000 people emigrated from Co. Clare. Emigration has created a Clare Diaspora which has resulted in millions of people world-wide who can trace their ancestry to County Clare.

2nd night in Ennis.