Landzunge · Co. Clare
Black Head
The north-western tip of County Clare, above Kilrush Bay at the entrance to Galway Bay — the headland that turns the coast, and the small 1936 lighthouse that the liners’ captains asked for.
The headland
Loop Head (Ceann Léime in Irish, meaning “leap head”) is a headland on the north side of the mouth of the River Shannon, in County Clare in the west of Ireland. It is marked by a prominent lighthouse, and the opposite headland on the south side of the Shannon is Kerry Head, across the estuary. The Shannon Foynes Port Company controls navigation in the Shannon estuary and river, and the headland is the landmark that marks the mouth for anyone coming up the estuary.
The peninsula
The Loop Head peninsula has the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Shannon Estuary on the other, with barely a mile of land saving it from island status. That is the thing the peninsula is: two coasts in one drive, the open Atlantic on the west and the working estuary on the east, with the lighthouse at the point where the two meet. In 2010 the Loop Head peninsula was awarded a European Destinations of Excellence Award — an EU accolade for emerging tourism destinations developing in a responsible and sustainable manner — and in 2013 it was named “Best Place to Holiday in Ireland” by The Irish Times.
The wildlife coast
The peninsula’s coasts are the reason for the trip: the Atlantic cliffs on the west, the estuary and its birds on the east, and the lighthouse country between them. The walk and the drive along the peninsula take in both coasts, and the light on the headland is best before the weather moves in. Pair it with Carrigaholt on the estuary side for a full day — the fishing village, the castle and the pier are the estuary’s answer to the headland’s lighthouse.
Practical
Loop Head is at the western end of the Clare coast, a drive from Ennis and Kilrush; the lighthouse is at the headland’s point. The peninsula works best as a full day — both coasts, the lighthouse and the villages in between.