The landscape can be divided naturally into several regions :

the world-famous Burren adjoining Galway Bay , a stark limestone landscape with numerous field monuments;

the North Clare Hills , part of the Slieve Aughty Hills which spill over the border into County Galway and have many undiscovered beauty spots;

the East Clare Hills running down the banks of the Shannon river towards Limerick;

the plains of Central and West Clare which actually give the county its name ; 'Clare' means a plain in Irish.

Shannon Airport is actually in County Clare ,not in County Limerick , as many imagine. It was built on a strip of saltmarsh originally known as Rineanna. The world's first duty-free shop was opened here , and Gaelic (Irish) Coffee was invented here.

In sport, the county divides into two halves: from Ennis to the east, the dominant sport is hurling ; and in the west of the county, the sport is Gaelic football. In recent times the hurlers have been more successful ,winning national titles in a number of categories.The landscape of County Clare(except for the Burren) is a patchwork of small green fields (it is a cattle-grazing countryside mainly) and is the first glimpse that the visitor arriving by air has of Ireland , and the last sight on departure.

County Clare is served by a weekly newspaper ; The Clare Champion , which offers regional and local news and sport.

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