The Burren: Folklore of the Burren
County Clare, semi-isolated from the rest of the country by the river Shannon, was a fertile field for the collector of folklore and traditions. The hereditary custodians of Gaelic learning maintained their function in Clare longer than elsewhere, and the Irish language survived as a vernacular into the 20th Century. As might be expected in such circumstances and in a countryside with so many visible remains of the past, the local folklore of the Burren was rich and imaginative and has left its traces in many place names.
