The Burren
The Burren, an area of about 100 square miles of karstic limestone rock and sparse soil on a dramatically undulating landscape, lies in the north-west corner of county Clare. Bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, with Galway Bay to the northwest, the Burren gets its name from the Irish (Gaelic) word Boireann, meaning rocky place.
Created by glacial action during the last ice age, the Burren is a wilderness that is at times flat and sloping, and other times broken by great hillsides of limestone separated by imposing cliffs, containing tranquil valleys, peacefully meandering streams, and beautiful beaches.
With a bleak but beautiful appearance often described as “lunar”, the Burren holds many delightful secrets – such as underground rivers and lakes, caverns and chambers, created over the centuries by rainwater which permeated. One such chamber, open to the public, is called Aillwee cave.
The ancient Irish were just as fond of the Burren as are its modern day visitors, as evidenced in its many archaeological sites, including some of Europe’s finest examples of megalithic tombs. Other monuments, dolmens and burial chambers date back almost 6000 years (older than the Egyptian pyramids!).
The most famous is the vortal tomb, or portal dolman, at Poulnabrone, an area that contains more than 60 wedge tombs. There are also numerous examples of raths (earthen ring forts) and stone cashels.
The area is also rich in ancient monasteries, churches and other ecclesiastical sites, as the Irish have long associated the Burren with spiritual peace
The Burren also boasts an extraordinary array of flora and wildlife, as the complex and unique environment provides home for plants and flowers not normally found together in the same location, as well as many unusual and rare species. Among these are the Alpine Gentian, Bloody Cranesbill, Mountain Avens. Strangely, some of the plants growing in the area are traditionally considered lime-hating.
For these and other reasons, the Burren is a botanist’s and ecologist’s paradise.