Clare

Clare, Irish An Clár,  county in the province of Munster, western Ireland. The town of Ennis, in central Claire, is the county seat.

Claire is bounded by Counties Galway (north), Tipperary (east), and Limerick (southeast); by the long estuary of the River Shannon (south); and by the Atlantic Ocean (west). The largest towns are Ennis and Kilrush. The seat of the Roman Catholic diocese is in Ennis, and the Church of Ireland cathedral is in Killaloe.

The county comprises three parts. In the east are peat- and bog-covered hills rising to 1,750 feet (533 metres), including the Slieve Bernagh, Slieve Aughty, and Cratloe hills, which are penetrated by wide valleys. Lowland central Clare has drained and embanked areas of former salt marsh along the Shannon and Fergus estuaries, and around Galway Bay the limestone country merges into the central Irish lowland. Surface drainage is restricted by the limestone: rivers often disappear underground, and in many turloughs, or limestone hollows, water may lie indefinitely.

West Clare comprises plateaus and lowlands. The Burren is a distinctive region of almost horizontal limestone slabs and little vegetation; along the coast is a limestone pavement area. The vegetation of the Burren comprises an unusual mixture of north and south European and alpine plants. The Burren plateau has a stony, desertlike appearance and is edged in places by steep, terraced rock faces. A flagstone occurs in some of the cliff faces, including the cliffs of Moher (600 feet [180 metres]) along the Atlantic.

Clare has mild winters and rainy summers; much of the county’s land is devoted to crops and pastures, and the main resources are cattle and sheep. Farms average 40–50 acres (16–20 hectares), and the chief crops are oats and potatoes. Most settlements are small trading centres, and Lisdoonvarna is a spa town. Ardnacrusha, on the Shannon, has a large hydroelectric power station. Shannon International Airport, Ireland’s major air terminal, is on reclaimed land 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Ennis. During the latter decades of the 20th century, the county experienced significant industrial development.

Clare abounds in evidence of prehistoric settlement, particularly from the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age) and the Bronze Age, including many megaliths and some 2,000 fortified enclosures. There are many early Christian sites with round towers and medieval castles—notably Bunratty Castle. Clare was part of Thomond, or North Munster, of which the O’Briens remained lords until the 16th century, despite the Anglo-Norman colonization in the 12th century. Clare was made a shire in the reign of Elizabeth I. In 1828 Daniel O’Connell won the election in Clare that led to the emancipation of Catholics in Ireland. Area 1,332 square miles (3,450 square km). Pop. (2006) 110,950; (2011) 117,196.