Ireland's West Coast Home Base
 

We hope tp rent a home on Ireland west coast next fall for 4-6 weeks. Some friends who are serious golfers would come for 2 weeks of our stay. Does anyone have any input on the perfect village to stay on the coast that would be well located for golf but would be large enough to be our home base. We were thinking Doolin. Is it too small? Would appreciate any help.

Sheahan,

Six weeks in the west of Ireland sounds mighty appealing. What a wonderful time you'll have.

As to Doolin, it's a pretty small place, and beyond some good traditional music opportunities, a fair number of accommodations, and a bit of shopping (I remember an excellent gift shop, Doolin Craft Centre, and two terrific restaurants, The Lazy Lobster anmd Bruach Na Haille), it's not an ideal base, especially if your game is golf.

You'd be better served settling in at Balybunion or Lahinch, both of which are well established for their seaside courses. The latter gets the nod, however, as the preferred base, given its proximity to other non-golf-related attractions and necessary amenities. (Ballybunion is in North Kerry, about 15 miles northwest of Listowel, at the mouth of the River Shannon). At Lahinch you'll have easy access to the Cliffs of Moher (get there early in the day, prior to the countless tour bus groups and you'll be thankful for being an early riser) and the wonders of the Burren. Plus, while Lahinch is rather honky-tonk place, you'll have two 18-hole courses to choose from and a wider-range of shops and restaurants to choose from.

Should you decide on Lahinch, by all means consider Doolin for purposes of fine dining and after-hours drink and tunes.

Best of luck.

My favorite Golf course in all the world is Carne Golf links, just outside Belmullet, County Mayo; but Belmullet is too small for a 2-week visit, unless you and your golfers stay in Ballina or Westport (either of which would give them access to several other links layouts). Ballina is on the Moy River; Westport is on the coast.
Carne Golf Links has a web site on which one may see each hole's layout.
If you're considering west Clare (i.e., Lahinch), Doonberg is a Greg Norman designed layout near Kilkee on the north bank of the Shannon estuary. I haven't played it but I've seen fotos and it's a 'bear.'

Have you considered staying two or three places for a couple of weeks each? From Killarney you are within reach of many sights and good golf courses. From Donegal or Bundoran (Crest of the Wave #10 is right on the water, lovely) you're within easy reach of the courses at Donegal, County Sligo, Strandhill, even Enniscrone and the Rosapena courses if you don't mind a bit of a drive. Then to the Antrim Coast for Giants Causeway, Carrick-a-rope bridge and the great courses at Castleroack, Ballyliffin, Portrush and Portstewart. If you don't mind breaking the trip into parts you can see a great deal of Ireland. Good luck. Have fun.

Re. west (County) Clare: there's an annual Matchmaking festival in early Fall based in Lisdoonvarna.

Also west Clare: I love to play a 9-hole links layout at Spanish Point about 2km from Miltown Malbay. It doesn't cost an arm & a leg as do Ballybunion (Co. Kerry) or Old Head (Co. Cork, near Kinsale) or to a lesser extent, Lahinch (Co. Clare)

For west Clare, I would base myslf in or around Ennis; for Mayo, in or near Ballina or Westport.

I was staying at Killeline Lodge in Newcastlewest, Co. Limerick. The property has an 19-hole Parkland Course that I played several times.
The morning I ws getting ready to head for Shannon and my f

Sorry! My laptop 'locked up' on me.
Before being interrupted, I wrote: an elderly gentleman asked if I would like to play Ballybunion. He had been observing me several days as I played Killeline, and offered me a free round with him at Ballybunion. I had to decline because I had an 11 AM flight Shannon - Newark.

I regretted my decision! I should have paid the $50 fee one incurs for a flight change and went ahead and played Ballybunion. It's one of those things one must live with the rest of one's life.

I agree with Sheahan - Lahinch sounds like the best bet for you. It is a nice village on the coast with cottage rentals available, close to the west coast attractions, and your golfing friends will be very happy to find that Lahinch links courses are right there on the edge of town.

Greg Norman's new course, Doonbeg, is not far, and there are several parkland courses in the area. "The Shrine", Ballybunion Old Course, is really not that far either, if you take the ferry.

Advise your friends, though, to play courses like Lahinch and Ballybunion, tee times should be arranged well in advance. The costs per round are now quite pricey as well.

Sheahan, it's mainly your holiday and I think you should prioritise choosing a place (or places) that would suit you -- but you haven't told us what you would like. Do you want a base for touring, or do you want to get right into a locality and become, to the extent that it is possible, a temporary local resident? Or do you have a different idea in mind?

Not that I am suggesting that you disregard the wishes of your golfer friends. The fact is that there are good or outstanding courses along much of the west coast. So I suggest that you identify a location that might suit the sort of holiday you would like and then, before committing to that choice, check on the golfing possibilities. Chances are that you will find enough good golf within range. If not, try again.

To Nedsireland,
Shhhhhhhh, Carne is our secret. Next thing you know you will have to book a tee time through a tour provider and pay lots and lots of Euros to play there. :)

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