Lahinch
Places of Interest
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THE PROMENADE: Lahinch is fronted by a fine
one mile stretch of golden beach. The sea wall, promenade and the
strand offer a choice of walks. High tides and Winter storms have
always been a regular occurrence at Lahinch and in 1883 the village
was battered by a severe storm. The sea wall and promenade were destroyed
and many buildings were damaged. A local government official, William
Edward Ellis, lived in Lahinch at the time. He instigated many improvements
in the village. He was involved in the construction of a sea wall
and a new promenade. It was officially opened by the wife of the Viceroy,
Lady Aberdeen, in July 1893.
SEAWORLD: Lahinch Seaworld and Leisure Centre
opened for business in the Summer of 1996. It houses an Aquarium,
a twenty five metre indoor swimming pool, sauna, jacuzzi, childrens
pool, café and souvenir shop.
- LAHINCH GOLF CLUB is famous for its championship
course amongst the sandhills. It dates back as far as 1892. Officers
of the Scottish Regiment, The Black Watch, who were stationed in Limerick,
decided to establish a branch of the Limerick Golf Club here. It was
officially inaugurated on Good Friday 1893. The original course was
mainly east of the Liscannor Road but in 1907 the committee decided
that the sandhills would prove more challenging. In 1927 Dr. A McKenzie
designed the present Lahinch lay out. Today Lahinch is
a mecca for golfers from all over the world with its eighteen hole
championship course coupled with the nearby Castle Course which caters
for the overflow of golfers, particularly during the peak holiday
periods. Each July the club hosts the South of Ireland golf championship,
now the oldest in the country, having started in 1895.
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LAHINCH CHURCH:
The Catholic church in the village centre is similar in design to
Ennistymon church. The architects were Corr and McCormack and the
builders were Farmer Brothers of Dublin. An earlier church had been
built by Fr. Keane during the period from 1830-1840. The present
church, the Church of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, was
built on part of the original church. The cornerstone was laid in
November 1952 and the church was opened in March 1954. The cost
was £38,000.
- SOME HOTELS AND DANCE HALLS: The Golf Links Hotel
was constructed in 1896. It was taken over by the British Military
in 1917 and used for the training of British conscripts. The British
vacated it in 1919. In 1933 the building was destroyed by fire. Towards
the end of the nineteenth century the public dance hall became an
important part of the social life in the area. The first Town Hall
was used as a dance hall, accommodating up to three hundred people.
It closed when two other dance halls opened. Between 1885 and the
late 1930's the Ballroom at the Victoria Hotel was used. The Royal
Marine Hotel, owned by the Collins family was a popular venue for
dances during the 1890's. Jack Garrahy's Hall had room for approximately
one hundred and twenty people. Dances went on from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.,
sometimes continuing until 6 a.m. This Hall closed in the 1940's,
shortly after the death of Jack Garrahy. During the 1930's the Claremont
Hotel was sometimes used as a dance venue. An Army Barracks
was built in Lahinch in 1939 and the dining hall there soon became
a dance venue known as the Sluagh Hall. In the late 1950's and early
1960's Marquee dances became popular during the Summer months and
the Showband era had begun. At the end of the 1950's Lahinch Development
Company constructed a modern complex containing a cinema, ballroom,
café, shop and swimming pool, as well as a childrens play area and
outdoor tennis courts. By 1964 the Entertainment Centre ballroom was
licensed to hold sixteen hundred people. Concerts were also held here.
The disco era followed the decline of the showbands but by 1991 the
Lahinch Centre Ballroom was closed. Seaworld now stands on the site,
the Aquarium occupies the entire area of the old ballroom.
- DOUGH CASTLE: North of the village on the Liscannor
Road may be seen the remains of Dough Castle. It was originally founded
by the O'Connors in 1306. Its old name "Dumhach Ui Chonchuir"
would translate as O'Connor's Sandbank and it was an O'Connor stronghold
until they were ousted by the O'Briens in the days of Queen Elizabeth
1 of England. It is referred to in 1422 but none of the present ruin
dates from that period. By 1584 the castle was held by Sir Donal O'Brien's
family. In 1654 Colonel Stubber, a Cromwellian officer, saved the
castle from the "Commissioners for overthrowing and demolishing
castles in Connaught and Clare" and it was described as a tall
battlemented tower with a two-storey dwelling house attached to one
side in 1675. The present ruin is the result of poor foundations (mainly
sand) rather than the ravages of war. The building collapsed at various
times, mainly during the nineteenth century. Only one wall now remains
of Dough Castle. The sandhills are supposed to be the haunt of Donn
Dumhach, the Fairy King, and the sandhill Crughaneer near the bridge
is also supposed to be haunted.
- KILMACREEHY CHURCH or the Church of St. MacCreiche
is an early twelfth-century parish church with nave and chancel built
on the site of MacCreiche's famous sixth- century school. In the nave
there is a holy water font beside the door. The recess on the north
wall is probably a tomb, with a carved-stone head topping the archway.
The monument on the south wall, reconstructed on paper by T.J. Westropp,
showed two Gothic arches, or fluted or corded pilasters, with further
branching from the central shaft. A carved head with flat medieval
head-dress topped the pointed hood which terminated here with serpents
of different styles. One of these serpents which looks as if it were
holding a bone or bar cross-wise in its jaws has been associated by
people with the legend of a corpse-eating eel from the sea. The small
porch is of sixteenth-century origin. Hugh MacCurtain,
the writer, is buried here in an unmarked grave.
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