The next feature in our Meet the Locals series has to be about the one and only Micho Russell.
Micho has inspired many a song, story, tune, even a play. But of course, Micho’s legacy is the magic of his unique style of Irish music. He was farmer from Doolin who played a huge part in during the 1960′s folk music revival here, and then went on to become an international performer when he was a man in his 70s.
His vast repertoire of beautiful old tunes, personal warmth and utterly unique approach to playing the tin whistle won him a loyal and enthusiastic following wherever he went.
St Brigid's Cross
February 1 is the feast day of Ireland’s much loved female patron saint, Saint Brigid. The day is still traditionally celebrated by making a Saint Brigid’s Cross, weaving rushes together. This cross is believed to protect your home in the year ahead.
Brigid, also known as Mary of the Gaels, was a hard-working woman of strong faith reknown for her care for the poor.
Ireland is full of holy wells dedicated to her – one of the most famous is at Liscannor, Co Clare close to the Cliffs of Moher. Open-air mass is celebrated here each year on her feast day, and she holds a special place in the hearts of North Clare people. In times gone by, the Aran Islanders would come to Doolin in currachs and make the journey to St Brigid’s Well for this mass.
Continue reading “St Brigid’s Day, the Start of Spring” »
Posted in Cliffs of Moher, Events, History, Liscannor, News
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Tagged Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Family Interest, Garrihy, History, Irish Saints, Liscannor, Religion
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In the 2009 movie, “Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince”, while searching for Voldemort’s horcrux, Harry and Dumbledore are shown at a sea cave in front of towering cliffs… which are none other than our own Cliffs of Moher!
The footage was filmed in September 2007 when a film crew were based at the Cliffs of Moher for almost a week. Our boat, the Jack B, was used by the location crew during production. So we like to claim we were in the movie, even if it was on the other side of the camera..
Continue reading “Harry Potter at the Cliffs of Moher” »
The Creamery at the Crossroads is a one hour documentary telling the story of how a small local creamery in Doolin, Co. Clare, brought together a community in rural Ireland.
The stories focuses on the Garrihy family and reveals how the creamery affected their lives through a series of touching and nostalgic stories from their youth up to present day.
This programme was aired in October and will be repeated at Christmas and then available as a Podcast, so keep a look out for updates!
Continue reading “The Creamery at the Crossroads” »
We are launching a new series of interviews called “Meet The Locals“.
This will feature interviews with local chararcters from Doolin and the Aran Islands. We will be encouraging them to share their stories and we hope to will give you a flavour what it is like to live in this beautiful area.
Our first interview is with the one and only,
Paddy the Puffin.
Q: Tell us about yourself, Paddy
A: My name is Paddy and I am an Atlantic Puffin. My family has been fishing at the Cliffs of Moher for generations – much like the Garrihys I suppose! Me and PJ have a lot in common 
Continue reading “Meet the Locals: Paddy the Puffin from the Cliffs of Moher” »
Posted in Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, News, Paddy the Puffin, Seabirds
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Tagged Aran Islands, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Family Fun in Doolin, Puffins, Willie Clancy Week
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Failte Ireland will be filming traditional Irish music in MacDermotts Pub in Roadford Doolin on Sunday evening 23rd Oct at 7pm.Apart from the cliffs of moher,the aran islands and the burren,traditional irish music is one of the main reasons why so many tourists visit doolin every year.The Russell brothers,Miko,Pakie and Gussie played a huge role in the revival of Irish traditional music in Ireland and around the world.Fisher street and Roadford are west and east villages in Doolin.
Everyone in Doolin who has an interest in promoting tourism for Doolin should attend the Doolin Tourism AGM on Tuesday 25th Oct 2011.With the traditional irish music,the cliffs of moher the burren and the aran islands we have all the tools to promote doolin.
Doolin residents have worked tirelessly for many years in an effort to have a new pier built at Doolin Co Clare.
A new pier at Doolin is critical in order to improve and protect the Health and Safety for all people using Doolin Pier as well as improving the experience and comfort for the thousands of tourists using the facility every year.
This Proposed pier has the potential to attract tens of thousands of additional tourists to County Clare every year.
Continue reading “Where now for proposed new pier at Doolin ???” »
The Aran sweater has become an internationally recognisable symbol of Ireland and the Aran Islands. The average sweater is made up of approximately 100,000 stitches and can take up to 60 hours to knit. The complex technique and arithmetic can take years to learn.
The classical fisherman’s sweater is a bulky garment with prominent cable patterns on the chest, often cream-colored. It is both stylish and functional, designed to keep the fishermen warm and dry, allowing easy movement so he can get on with his work. This design works as well for fashion concious people who want to keep the Atlantic elements at bay!
Continue reading “The Story behind the Aran Sweaters” »
Scoil Caomhán, the National School on Inis Oirr, were overall winners of the Golden Mile of Galway – Slí Dúlra na Gaillimhe. This is a heritage initiative which was designed to encourage people living on rural roads to become more aware of the natural heritage along their roadsides.
It was a fantastic win for the small school, the students and their teacher did a wonderful job of describing their Golden Mile on this, the smallest of the three Aran Islands, and the closest island to Doolin. Continue reading “The Golden Mile of Galway – Inis Oirr, Aran Islands” »
Paddy the Puffin was at last Tuesday’s meeting with all the movers and shakers in the Clare Tourism Forum. It was a great night at the Armada Hotel, showcasing some of the amazing attractions, activities, hotels and dining experiences in our wonderful county.
County Clare has so much to offer visitors – Cliffs of Moher – especially cruises 
the Doolin and Aillwee Caves, fantastic Irish music in proper traditional pubs, beautiful hotels, hostels, B&B accomodation and world class restaurants. But dont take our word for it, take a look at these photos and then come and visit us!
Continue reading “What’s to do in County Clare? An awful lot, that’s what!” »
Posted in Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Family Fun in Clare, Paddy the Puffin, Seabirds
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Tagged Activities in Clare, Aran Islands, Boat Trips, Castles, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, Family Fun in Doolin
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Liscannor village lies south of the Cliffs of Moher on the Clare coast and its most famous son is John Phillip Holland, who is credited with inventing the submarine.
Holland was born in 1841 in Liscannor, Co.Clare. He had become interested at an early age in the possibility of constructing submersible boats and, as an Irish patriot, saw how they might be used against the ships of the British navy in the fight for Irish independence. Continue reading “Inventor of Submarine hails from Liscannor Co Clare” »
Doonagore Castle is Doolin’s iconic tower house castle on the hill overlooking Doolin Point. This is used as one of the navigational points for boats approaching Doolin pier.
This castle is now in private ownership and its lucky owners have one of the most coveted views in Ireland, looking down over Doolin Point and the Aran Islands and beyond Clare to the Connemara hills.
The name could mean “the fort of the rounded hills” or the “fort of the goats“.
There are said to be over 3,000 tower house remains in Ireland, built throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The earliest ones were built by the Normans.
Continue reading “Doonagore Castle, Doolin, Co. Clare” »
The Cliffs of Moher are the crowning glory of the County Clare coastline and extend for 8km between Doolin and Liscannor.
Formed from sediments laid down 320 million years ago, the cliffs take their name from a ruined fort on the headland, Mothar, which was demolished to make room for a Signal Tower in the 1800s.
They form a continuous rocky wall (perpendicular or overhanging) varying in height from 124m to 214m (407 – 700ft).
From the cruise, passengers get a bird’s eye view of these wonders of nature. Continue reading “What You Will See on a Cliffs of Moher Cruise” »
The Cliffs of Moher are Ireland’s largest seabird colony, with 40,000 breeding pairs nesting at the cliffs.
In the spring, the views from our Cliffs of Moher cruise are incredible - Puffins, Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Razorbills and more, all busy fishing and rearing their young among the rockshelves and burrows.
The Guillemots lay their pear-shaped eggs directly onto the rock shelves, a precarious start in life for the baby birds! Puffins nest in burrows close to Goat Island, fishing for sand eels for their young.
We took photos on May 3rd around the seastack at the Cliffs of Moher, called An Bhreannan Mor. Take a look and see what you are missing….
Continue reading “Seabirds at the Cliffs of Moher” »
The iconic Plassy shipwreck is known all over the world. Here on the island for the past 50 years, this “blow-in” has become an integral part of the community on Inis Oirr.
She also features in the opening credits of the popular comedy series Fr Ted and is a “must see” for visitors to this, the smallest of the three Aran Islands.
The boat went down in 1960, and Mike Tobin is the only member of the Plassy crew still alive. He was back as the Guest of Honour on Inis Oirr for a special night in Aras Eanna last summer – the 50th anniversary of the shipwreck. Continue reading “The Plassy – The Famous Shipwreck on Inis Oirr” »
In Medieval times, people on the Aran Islands lived in “chiefdoms” – the largest example of this is the hillfort at Dun Aonghasa ( Dun Aengus ) on Inis Mor. This spectacular fort stands on the highest point of the cliffs on Inis Mor (87m or almost 300 ft).
The word “Dun” means “fort of a king or chieftain”. The Aran Island chiefs were powerful and wealthy people who controlled the western sea passages – supposedly keeping the seas free from pirates on behalf of the merchants in Galway in exchange for protection money. Apparently these protectors were not against a bit of pirating themselves, but that’s another story! Continue reading “Dun Aengus Fort – Ancient Icon of the Aran Islands” »
We have joined up with Galway Bay Executive Travel to offer a new daily bus service from Galway to Doolin and we are delighted with the huge response from our passengers so far!
This service allows passengers with no car to come from Galway city to Doolin, take a trip to Inis Oirr and the Cliffs of Moher Cruise before returning to Galway later that afternoon. And all for only 50 euros…
The bus also stops at every town between Galway and Doolin, as well as travelling on to Lahinch, so it gives tourists to the area much better flexibility. Continue reading “New Galway to Doolin Bus/Boat Combo Launched” »
Paddy the Puffin was out on parade in Doolin (literally) for St Patrick’s Day – he even donned a new hat and tie for the occasion and looked rather dapper..
Doolin’s parade is a marvellous occasion for the village and floats range from the good to the bad to the (deliberately) ugly and everything in between. This year we had a glorious spring day and there was a lovely atmosphere in the village – it was great to shake off the winter cobwebs!
Take a look at the Great Bird himself in action. Continue reading “Doolin’s St Patrick’s Day Parade” »
Proposal passed unanimously by council
We are delighted to announce that construction for Doolin’s new pier will get underway this year, following a decision from Clare County Council to approve the plans.
This means that we will be able to offer our passengers a much safer, efficient and reliable service once the new pier is in place.
Continue reading “New Pier for Doolin – better transport to Aran Islands” »
Since joining the Doolin2Aran team, Paddy has been a very busy Puffin. But he seems to enjoy his work, it turns out he really is a people person, or is it a people bird??
Whether he is out at the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Centre meeting celebrities like Sile Seoige, or taking a surf lesson in Lahinch, Paddy takes it all in his stride.
Here are some pics of him enjoying his new-found fame around North Clare and beyond…
Come and meet him in person!
Continue reading “Meet Paddy The Puffin!” »
So, you have read and digested our blog on Getting There, now it’s the fun part – what to do when you arrive on the Aran Islands.
Exploring the landscape
Regardless of whether you are visiting Inis Oírr, Inis Meáin or Inis Mór, you should acquaint yourself with the basic layout of the island. To explore, you can choose to travel by minibus or pony and trap (not on Inis Meáin yet), by bicycle or walking.
Continue reading “Tips for your Trip to the Aran Islands – Part 2” »
If you are only visiting the North Clare area for a few days, make the most out of your time, reading this blog is a good place to start. A day trip to the Aran Islands will be one of the highlights of your trip to the west coast of Ireland. But like anything, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well, so read on and be prepared.
It might be useful to look at the day in two parts, the “Getting There” part and the “Being There” part. If you get the “Getting There” part right, then the “Being There” part is much more fun!
Continue reading “Tips for Enjoying your Trip to the Aran Islands – Part 1” »
Posted in News
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Tagged Aran Islands, Doolin
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