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Ennistymon is a charming country town that is overlooked by most visitors in the rush to nearby Lahinch, and has therefore mostly been left to its own devices, resulting in many unchanged traditional shopfronts and a merciful lack of fast-food joints and entertainment arcades created for the bulk tourist trade. The town is hilly and the streets are narrow, well suited to a stroll. A small river - the Inagh - runs by the town, and descends by means of some small waterfalls, known locally as 'the falls' or 'the cascades'. The best places to view these are from the road bridge and - better still - from the bar of The Falls Hotel, a short walk off the main street. This large lounge bar (which also serves a sound lunch) is constructed high above a large pool into which the river descends; the view is always worthwhile but particularly when there is a flood in the river. There is some salmon fishing below the falls, which prevent the fish from ascending any further, and trout fishing above them, which (for the fly fisher) is entertaining rather than spectacular.
The history of the town is relatively short, it was established as a town only in 1588, the year of the Spanish Armada, which features extensively in the local history all along the Co.Clare coast. The Falls Hotel was originally the residence of the McNamara family, and has since been extended to a hotel. Dylan Thomas has an association with the house; he married Caitlin McNamara. He is memorialised appropriately by having the present bar named after him.
Ennistymon almost featured in Irish history in 1798, when 200 local men assembled to repel English forces at the bridge. Fortunately they were a day too early, and no forces turned up, so the defenders dispersed. When the army arrived next day there was no one to oppose them, and so a bloodbath was averted; see Kiaran Sheedy's book on 1798 in Clare - 'The United Irishmen of Clare'. A short but informative essay by Kieran about the events of that time can be found on this County Clare history page.
For those seeking reading material, there is a library situated in the town. Also, for the (hopefully) environmentally conscious there are recycling facilities accepting drink cans, plastic bottles and glass.
Other towns of County Clare
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