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Header: The Bunratty River-and its Associations

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1. Page 1: Currently the river and how it is used Bunratty River and the media: Bunratty Search and Rescue; fishing; dolphin pods.

2. Page 2: Early Settlements based around the river.3. Page 3: Bunratty River and Bunratty Castle.4. Page 4: History, industries and associated culture of the Bunratty River.5. Page 5: Nature and Geology of the River: geology, soils, woodland and land-use.6. Page 6: Restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs in Bunratty7. Page 7: Links to other similar places in Co. Clare

Location map: draw this and scan into page

Directions: on how to get there.

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Introduction:

The Bunratty River is in a small village in Co. Clare called Bunratty; Bún-Ráite in Irish.

This website is based on an interest in nature and culture and the interface between them which we know as a “sense of place.”

Bunratty takes its name from the river that flows through it. This gives us an idea of its roots and how it grew to the place it is today.

There have been many transitions in its history over time. Here, the village became established because of its river traversing through and its strategic transport location where it meets the River Shannon and the Atlantic Ocean at Bunratty Village.

There have been changes in industries associated with the river from the fishing culture and Water-Mills of the C15th to what is today a thriving tourist location.

It has gained media attention recently for the dolphin pods which frequent the river up from the River Shannon.

Aim of Website: The main purpose of this website is to act as a central information point about the Bunratty River and the surrounding Bunratty Village. The site I hope will be interactive so that people can add information. This could be about things like events or the history of area through storytelling.

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Contact form

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List of terms associated with the project: locals, tourists, restaurateurs, events, nature, history enthusiasts, storytellers. This is to be written in the footer in each page. The purpose is for it to focus attention on all the aspects that people can engage with and the repeating terms provides consistency and links between the pages. Copyright

Page 1: Bunratty Search and Rescue Service

Bunratty Search and Rescue Service:

Founded in 1981, the Bunratty Search and Rescue teams operate form the “Bunratty Boathouse” located on the river banks of the Bunratty River. The staff consist of trained volunteers. They work in the search for and the rescue of people in the River Shannon area. They provide the tide table times which are valid from Limerick to Foynes for the high tides everyday measures in meters. The geographical area span that they cover is the Shannon Estuary from Limerick to Glin and the River Fergus.

In keeping with cultural tradition in the area there is an annual mass and blessing of the boats for the search and rescue team and to pray for those deceased members of the boat club and those who have lost their lives in the River.

Bunratty Search and Rescue are a registered charity and people can make donations to the voluntary organisation through its website.

Contact DetailsPhone 061-36446Address: Boat House, Bunratty, Co. Clare

Dolphins from the Shannon Estuary in the Bunratty River: Pods of dolphins frequent the Shannon Estuary and sometimes make their way up the Bunratty River at high tide and return to the Shannon River again. In 2013, they made national headlines as 3 of the pod of these dolphins became stranded in low tide for 10 days. Before, it was in 1995 that this type of event occurred. The location was in the Bunratty River at a point which is a hive of human activity central to the Bunratty Village. It was essential that they were helped return to the main river salt water as soon as possible. They were monitored by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) and they returned to the Estuary unharmed.

Put a map here to show location of river in relation to other mentioned areas: ***

Figure 1: Bunratty Search and Rescue Boat House

Page 2: Settlements and cultures associated with the Bunratty River

Settlements and cultures associated with the Bunratty River:

Research into early settlements: Originally discovered during archaeological surveys of the River as part of a larger project to archeologically map the Shannon Estuary River area. The Bunratty River meets the River Shannon and the Atlantic Ocean with characteristic mud-flats exposed at low-tides which is a feature of the third stage of any river. For more information on geography of the river and its area the link is: The Geography of the Bunratty River.docx

The findings date back to ancient occupation, dwelling and living centred around the Bunratty River. These have been radio-carbon dated to identify them as of Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age, Early Christian, Medieval and Post-Medieval Times. Along the upper parts of the river there are ringforts and tombs dating back to the Bronze Age.

Pre-historic Settlements: Along the path of the Bunratty River have been found significant evidence of pre-historic settlements. Bronze and gold metalworks discovered in lakes and bogs associated with the river amongst other remnants.

Early-Medieval: The River has also served as boundary for the early Medieval region of Tradraighe, while the wider locality was an area of military contention between the native Irish and the Anglo-Norman colonialists. This occurred from the 12th to the 15th centuries.

The English Commission and Dutch Settlers: Subsequent post-medieval settlements lead centred around the English Commission who brought Dutch settlers to the area developing the Water-Mill industries along the Bunratty River and are evident from the mid-17th century onwards.

Figure 2: An underground tunnel part of the river water-moat structure of the castle

Page 3: Bunratty River and Bunratty Castle

Bunratty River and Bunratty Castle:

The castle is probably the most well-known association of the Bunratty River. Indeed, it appears prominent though secondary to the castle today. However, there was a time where the Bunratty River was the reason for all settlements including castles and industry in this area.

Bunratty Castle built on an island: Originally, the castle was built on an island of the Bunratty River called the ‘Island of Tradree.’ At that time, it would have been more closely identified with the Northern bank of the River Shannon, a strategic location for trade. This is where the Bunratty River joins the River

Shannon to its left and the Atlantic Ocean to its right, the link to the ocean which accounts for the tidal nature of this river. The later was the reason for the development of Water-Mill industries in later years and the development of settlements around these businesses.

The nature of the castle on an island in a river continued from the Middle Ages through to the end of the 18th century. Before the time of the Mills, the location was strategic as it commanded the Medieval waterway-traffic to Limerick which was considered as most important gateway and port to the South-West of Ireland.

Not surprisingly, therefore, there have been many battles, wars and conquests of this castle and its water-way importance. The ownership, mostly through the winning of battles fought for to conquer the location with a turbulent history of over 500 years. Significantly during the Norman occupation, the river provided a great water-filled ditch/channel surrounding the castle.

To the left is a picture of a modern Structure in the view of the castle that is popular with tourists.

Figure 3: Picture of Bunratty Castle today from the hill (island-hill) where the first of the Bunratty Castles were built

Figure 4: Modern structure in the view of Bunratty Castle

Significant dates in the developments that occurred around the Bunratty River

date contributor The changes they carried out in the river areaC13th Vikings Built a large earthen moat otherwise known as a ‘ditch’ which

today can be seen around the castle and extending into the hill behind it.

C13th Normans1250 Robert de

MuscegrosBuilt a wooden castle on the site using the native oak and beech timber of the surrounding forests. He obtained a license for holding a market fair at Bunratty in this year. His legacy continued as by the end of C13th the town was thriving with a population of over 1,000 people.

1277 Thomas de Clare

After the death of Robert de Muscegros the lands were passed onto Thomas de Clare by King Edward I, of England. De Clare built a stone castle here that was surrounded by walls. His timing was significant in terms of Irish culture as he drove all the Irish inhabitants off the island, replacing them with his own Norman Settlers.Thus, not surprisingly, there was a great amount of conflict between de Clare and the native McNamara family of the area.

1280 Turlough More

King of Thomond and his brother Donal attacked the castle at night and lay siege to the castle and its surrounding area. It got so bad that the castles inhabitants were not able to bury their dead and an epidemic broke out from which many of them died.

1306 McNamara Family

By 1306 the castle had been burned at least twice by the McNamara family who were trying to reclaim their lands from the Normans

1318 Battle of Corofin

Here the Irish met the Normans where the Irish won the Battle and where Thomas de Clare was killed. The story goes that his wife on hearing of the result of the battle and her husband’s death fled to England on awaiting boats in the Bunratty River not before she set fire to the Castle and it burned to a ruin. It is thought that it was later restored by a Robert de Welle for King Edward II of England.

1332 Thomond The Irish of Thomond under the McNamara and O’Brien families conquered the castle and its area. For 21 years, the castle lay in ruins, but, it did not lose its strategic importance as a location for trade.

1353 Sit Thomas de Rokeby

The Kings Justicar in Ireland occupied Bunratty and rebuilt the castle. However, it was hardly built when it was conquered by the Irish who also destroyed this castle.

+200years Irish The Irish people who featuring strongly were the O’Brien and McNamara families.

Circa C15th Maccon MacSioda Macconnmara

Chief of Calnn Cuilein, the present castle was built by this person and completed by his son Sean Finn. Interestingly, the previous castles were built on where is now located Bunratty Castle Hotel. From this time the area had a relatively peaceful time with various owners making improvements to the castle and its area.

1646 Admiral Penn This person and his Parliamentary forces conquered Bunratty with an interest in the strategic position of its river. In their hold

on Bunratty they could prevent any ships and other river traffic from arriving at or leaving the port at Limerick and sailing up the River Shannon.

1720 Studdert Family

Built a residence on the grounds but the castle fell into disrepair.

1956 Lord Gort Through contributions from Lord Gort and Bord Fáilte, the OPW have restored the castle. Over the years Lord and Lady Gort have collected exhibits for the castle to restore it to its C15th grandeur.

Table of contributers to the location

Significance of the Geology of the River in settlements and industry: The topography of the river and its perceived resources was to influence the face of this water-way, cultural and industrial landscape over time. Over many generations the lands around the castle have been reclaimed and built up where there is now a thriving village and local population.

Page 4: The Industrial History of the Bunratty River

The Mills of the Bunratty River:

The Beginning of the Mills: About 1695 a Commission of the English Parliament decided that the people of what they called the Limerick Area in which they included the Bunratty Area, were idle and unenterprising. They stated that what was needed was an infusion of Dutch Enterprise to liven the place up. Many of these settlers came to the Bunratty-Sixmilebridge area, as the river was noted for being suitable for milling. The fact that the British should encourage settlers and trade in 1695 and through the “Navigation Laws” smash the ‘Woollen Trade of 1692’ did not apparently strike anyone in Whitehall as illogical.

Three mills were built around the same period of 1646 based at different intervals along the river located between Bunratty and Sixmilebridge. They were water-mills and their industry was each separately of brick, flax and bleach mills.

They are interconnected by their association with the Dutch who used to travel up the river to collect the flax at the mill in Ballintlea and bring it back to Holland. Interestingly, the boats they used were sailing boats and of a sort that could not go to sea without a certain amount of weight aboard. This is where the source of stone for the brick mills came into play where the Dutch sailors would carry stone such as basalt to keep their boats steady on the way to the mills which they would then discard at the mill. They would then load up with the flax produced in the mill and off to Holland with their cargo.

Wind-Mill (c.1646): One of the first mills to be constructed in this region was a ‘Wind-Mill.’ Built circa 1646 and located at the side of Cappa Castle. The castle itself was converted into a Wind-Mill and was used to grind corn. All that remains today is some rubble.

Oil-Mill (1664): The next reference to a mill in this area was Ballintlea Oil-Mills, established here for the processing of rape-oil. They are mentioned in Thomas Dinley’s tour of Clare in 1680 and in the “Inchiquin Manuscript” of September 1664 articles were entered by Thomas Greene and Cooper for an oil industry. Later under a scheme initiated by the Amsterdam Merchant George Pearse, Dutch artisans and settlers rebuilt the mills that had fallen into a bad state of repair in 1696. It is noted that he also built a soap factory to utilise the by-products of the Oil-Mill. ‘Cattle-cake’ was another by-product from the Oil-Mill which was sold to local farmers.

The Mills were established at the highest point to which ordinary tide flows. This meant that the barges could transport goods to and from the Oil-Mills and such water movement considerably reduced their costs. This site was also favoured by the occurrence of some rapids here which increased the flow on the river, thereby, producing greater water force for turning the mill wheels associated with the Oil-Mills.

Boats transported barrels of rape-seed up as far as the mills along the Bunratty River at 20 to 50 tonnes of seed at each delivery. The Ballintlea Mills fell out of use in the 1780’s. It is probable that this occurred after the defeat of ‘Grattans Commercial Proposals’ in 1785 which gave Britain renewed control over Irish trade. The Bunratty River Mills also provide an archaeological context for the 17th century Dutch Settlement and industry in South-East Clare.

Water-Mills:

A Water-Mill channel in this photograph reminds us of the interaction between the river and the Mill-works.

There are four kinds of Water-Mills: ‘Balance Mills’; ‘Breaft Mills;’ and those relevant to the Bunratty River which are ‘Overshot Mills’ and ‘Undershot Mills.’

In the original Over-shot Mill the water is conveyed over the top of the wheel and conducted into a bucket on the back-part of its centre. However, it also acts principally by gravity. From local history, it has been recalled that there was ‘a wooden mill wheel working the shaft of the old mill, with the water coming in over the top of it. A 36’’ diameter wheel with a gush of water funnelled down from the head-race into the buckets on the wheel.

It turned much faster than the older type of wooden-wheel. The wheel created electricity to work the mill and gave light to the village at 6 pence a bulb per week. They more recent times they made an agreement with the E.S.B. to take over the electricity of the village where the Mill was based. Street lights were powered by the turbine on the mill and the mill itself was later powered by gas engines and electricity from the turbines. There was no similar Mill of this standard in County Clare.

Regarding the ‘Undershot Mill,’ the wheel was driven merely by impulse, by the source of the current of water running under it. It is evident from this that this type of mill must have required a large quantity of water running under it. The velocity of the undershot wheel should be no more than one third of the velocity of the water for the mill to work to the best advantage.

Preservation: Today a mill of precisely the same construction as that on the Bunratty River can be seen in ‘The Belfast Museum,’ which was found near Killinchay, in Co. Down. The material of the wheel is oak and the water-wheel consists of a nave and an upright axle, both cut out of one solid piece of wood. The entire length was approximately 6ft 6’’.

Placed around the nave are nineteen inserted buckets or ladles which are curved to receive the impulse od a stream of water. At the upper end of the axle there is a deep grove of 12’’ long in which moves an oak wedge. This was used evidently for raising or lowering a small mill-stone.

Water-Mills and the Law in Ireland: Water-Mills were such a common occurrence in early Irish Society that a complete set of milling laws dealing with water rights and water courses existed. These were called “Coibnes Uisce Thairide” passed. These laws, introduced in the 8 th Century were the most complete set of milling laws from Early Medieval Europe. Not even the German legal codes afforded water-mills such prominence.

When Ireland came under the influence of Great Britain “soke rights” were introduced. This legal obligation meant that tenants on an estate had use for the land-lords mill. On many occasions

Figure 5 Water-Mill channel: architecture and the riverFigure 2: A water-mill channel in the Bunratty River

farmers were understandably upset when they were prevented by the land-lords “soke rights” from going to another cheaper mill. For the diligent miller, this arrangement ensured a safe income. Sometimes, mills were exempt from tithes.

The Mills today: The present site of the Mills today are masked under mature underwood. However, references by the farmer who owns the land where the Mills are located: in 1978 stated that there are remains from the Mills including building foundations, a vertical grinding stone and a substantial settling-tank. As water transport was the main source of goods movement on the river, it became necessary to build a stone-faced quay above any possible flood level of the river. There is also evidence of some ancient dredging along the river.

Today, the quay is overgrown thought most of its stone facing wall remains. Such a river was clearly a centre of great activity and industry during these years. A sculpture can be seen in the Bunratty River reminiscent of the Mills and central part it had in people’s lives and the story of the Bunratty River.

Figure 6Statue in the Bunratty River at Sixmilebridge

Page 5: Geography of the Bunratty River

The Geography of the Bunratty River:

Introduction to Location: The Bunratty River Catchment Area is situated in South-East Clare. It incorporates the Western-side of the Slieve Bernagh-Woodcock Hill upland and the Eastern part of the gentle undulating South Clare Limestone Lowland. Most of the upland ranges in elevation from 60-300m, the highest point being over 500m. The elevation of the lowland ranges from 5-50m. The lowland occupies less than half of the total catchment area.

This river flows through a shallow river valley. It is typically narrow and shallow with areas of wet-land reed-beds located towards the its Southern orientation. It takes a gentle, meandering course with areas of the river floodplain most obvious in Bunratty Village.

The river banks bear the evidence of earlier, small-scale and more recent large-scale dredging activities to curtail flooding. The adjacent landscape varies between relatively steep slopes of rock-land out-crops and the fertile soils of more low-lying land.

Tributaries and Lakes: The Bunratty River has several tributaries associated with it, the largest of which is the ‘Broadford River.’ The river drains into the Shannon Estuary at Bunratty where there are extensive mudflats. The river is tidal up as far as Ballintlea Lodge.

There are five sizeable lakes in the river system; Castle-lake, Clonlea Lough, Doon Lough, Kilgory Lough and Bridget Lough.

In this web-site I will be working in most detail with the lower section of the Bunratty River from Castle Lake to the Shannon Estuary.

Rocks & Soils associated with the Bunratty River: Gleys, peats and grey brown podzolic soils predominate. These are generally poorly drained soils aside from the grey brown podsolics, land drainage is common and does result in significant improvement of the agricultural land.

In the lowlands, Quaternary deposits overlying the bedrock consist mainly of limestone till. These deposits are generally less than 5m thick, although they are likely to be thicker where they form drumlins.

Alluvial material covers the floodplain from the Shannon Estuary to Oil Mill Bridge at the upper end of Bunratty village. There are smaller areas around most of its associated lakes. The low-lying northern part of the catchment, upstream of Doon Lough has a relatively low summer run-off. The lakes are an important factor in the regulation of the water discharge from this part of the Bunratty River Catchment. Much of the land is either: marsh, bog or reclaimed pasture.

Figure 7Mud-banked waters and associated low-lying vegetation

Above Bunratty towards Sixmilebridge the river channel is composed of gravel and rock. The coarser sands and gravels were left behind up-stream, however, the finer sand, silt and clay settled where the river flow was slowest. That is, in the lower course of the river and the lakes. During periods of flood the silt is spread across the neighbouring callows.

Arthur Young: In 1766, agriculturist and author Arthur Young paid a visit to Sir. Lucas O’Brien who held the Seat at Dromoland South in County Clare at that time. O’Brien furnished Young with a large amount of useful geographical information on the carcass lands of Traderee. This spanned from Dromoland to Limerick. Bunratty lies at the heart of this referred to area.

Land-use: There were native woods of oak, ash and popular along the hill-sides adjoining the Bunratty River. These were a source for construction far and wide across the country. The low-lying carcass lands were more suitable for agriculture. The soils of the corcass are of rich black loam or deep blue clay. The best lands are of limestone or limestone gravel and the surrounding mountains are mostly of grit stone. Much of the land is for tillage and the sowing of 12 store of wheat to an acre in the corcass would yield a crop almost twice that of elsewhere. Rape was grown in large quantities on the adjoining mountains which was processed into oil in the Bunratty River mills.

Rent: the average rent for lands in the carcass area was 5 shillings. However, it has been recorded that twenty thousand acres from Paradise Hill along the River Fergus and Shannon, through Bunratty and as far as Limerick was let at 20 shillings an acre.

Woodlands:

The woodlands of Bunratty, a small cluster behind the castle are part of the “Ancient Woods of Sudain” that stretched from Galway to Limerick. These are the oldest known oak and beech trees in woodlands in Ireland today. Nearby, the Cratloe Woods would have been an extension of these Bunratty woodlands that would have extended to both sides of the river. The wood for the rafters of Westminster Abbey in the U.K. was sourced from these woodlands. There is a playground in the Cratloe Woods and they are popular with walkers and cyclists.

Page 6: Restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs in Bunratty

Gallagher’s Seafood Restaurant & J.P. Clarkes Country Pub/Restaurant:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty West, Bunratty, Co. ClarePhone 061- 363 363

Hours of opening Sunday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmMonday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmTuesday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmWednesday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmThursday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmFriday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmSaturday: 10:30a.m-12:30pm

The Creamery Bar/Restaurant:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty West, Bunratty, Co. ClarePhone 061- 364 114

Hours of opening Sunday: 12:00am-8:00pmMonday: 12:00am-8:00pmTuesday: 12:00am-8:00pmWednesday: 12:00am-8:00pmThursday: 12:00am-8:00pmFriday: 12:00am-8:00pmSaturday: 12:00am-8:00pm

Durty Nelly’s Pub/Restaurant:

Contact DetailsAddress Moyhill, Bunratty, Co. ClarePhone 061- 364 861

Hours of opening Sunday: 12:00am-11:00pmMonday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmTuesday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmWednesday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmThursday: 10:30a.m-11:30pmFriday: 10:30a.m-12:30amSaturday: 10:30a.m-12:30am

Bunratty Castle Hotel:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty West, Co. ClarePhone 061- 478 700

Bookings On website/ by contacting directly

Bunratty Castle Banquets:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty Heritage, Bunratty Castle & Folk

Park, Bunratty, Co. ClarePhone 061-360778

061-361020

Bookings On website/ by contacting directly

Bunratty Manor Hotel:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty, Co. ClarePhone 061- ********

Bookings On website/ by contacting directly

Lily Mai’s Café/ Meadows & Byrne:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty Village Mills, Bunratty, Co. Clare

Phone 061- 364 405

Hours of opening Sunday: *****Monday: Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: ****

The Courtyard B&B:

Contact DetailsAddress Bunratty, Co. Clare

Phone 061-361 444087-237 95 06

Bookings On website/ by contacting directly

Page 7: Links to similar places in Clare

Links to similar places in Clare