Looking Down On Lough Derg From A Great Height

This month I would like to highlight one of my favourite routes, namely the Lakeshores and Uplands Tour from Garrykennedy. This route is available as both a Guided Tour and as Self-Guided (with the route provided on a Garmin satnav device). The route starts and ends in the beautiful harbour town of Garrykennedy, before taking you up into the Arra Range of hills on a series of quiet roads. Here you will see fantastic views down over the lake, before heading back downhill into Garrykennedy, where you can avail of a fantastic lunch at the award winning Larkin’s Bar and Restaurant.

 

The Tour

We start from Garrykennedy, which was an important harbour town in the days when most trade travelled by water. The harbour was used to trade in building materials from the nearby slate mines. Nowadays, the trade is all but gone, and we are left with a beautiful tourist destination. A highlight of Garrykennedy is the 15th Century castle of the O’Kennedys (pictured below). The castle was originally much bigger than what we see now, but was partially destroyed by the forces of Oliver Cromwell in the 17th Century, and what was left gradually fell into ruin in the following centuries. The castle lives on, though, as the harbour was built from the rubble of the castle!

From Garrykennedy, we head uphill, and turn left towards Youghalara. At the Youghalara church, you will see a handball alley built into the ruins of the old church. Next, we start a long steady climb into the lower reaches of the Arra range. At the end of the first climb, you will get a fine view of the range, before we head downhill through Killoran, pausing to admire a fine collection of animal sculptures, before starting the climb up to the viewpoint at the Graves of the Leinstermen. This section is the steepest climb of the route, and can be skipped if you’re not confident with climbing. However, please note that the eBike motor takes a lot of the effort out of the climb, and if you put the battery on max power and drop to a low gear, the climb is manageable to most people.

The Graves of the Leinstermen is a site on the side of Tountinna, the highest hill in the Arra range. From here, you will get great views down over Lough Derg (see picture below), and into County Clare on the other side. The reason it is called the Graves of the Leinstermen is due to a legend of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland from 1002-1014. Boru was born in Killaloe, a few miles downriver from Tountinna. Legend has it that he had arranged for his daughter to be married to the King of the Leinstermen. However, his wife did not approve, and arranged to have the Leinstermen ambushed en route to Killaloe to claim the King’s bride. The Leinstermen were massacred, and the King’s dying wish was to be buried within sight of Leinster. So the story goes that his group were buried at the site now known as the Graves of the Leinstermen. Whatever the truth of the story, the stones up at the site are actually way older than that, and are thought to be a megalithic tomb. Either way, you can wander among the stones and breathe in the history!

Leaving the Leinstermen and their Megalithic forebears behind to rest in peace, we next head downhill to our second viewpoint over Lough Derg, known as The Lookout. From here, we can view the remainder of our tour, looking down over the forest at Castlelough and across the lake to Inis Cealtra (Holy Island), which is the site of a 6th Century monastic settlement, which was a great centre of learning and trade for several centuries.

We continue downhill into Castlelough, passing Cambie Castle and the ruined Castletown church before arriving at the popular Lakeside Park.

After Castlelough, we pass along the edge of the Castlelough Forest before heading back into Garrykennedy. Many of our guests choose to finish with a spot of lunch at Larkin’s Bar and Restaurant.

This tour is a great way to experience the Lough Derg lakeshores, and is easily reachable from both Nenagh and Killaloe. Come and join us sometime!