Private Ennis Essential History Tour with Dr Jane O'Brien

5.0 (40 reviews) 1 h 10 min Free cancellation Private tour

out of 5

40 reviews

5.0

Hidden stories brought to life by award-winning local guide Jane O'Brien — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

A warm welcome — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Private tour of Ennis with an experienced and award-winning local guide. Dr Jane O’Brien (PhD in history) has been running tours of Ennis since 2005 but it is Jane's storytelling skills that bring the vibrant past of the town alive for all who join her tours. You will explore the streets and laneways of Ennis while learning about the intriguing stories that shaped its history. Winner of the "2024 Best Walking Tour Experience" and guide for the Rick Steves Tours in Ennis, this tour explores the history, methodology, legends, ghosts, poverty, murders and more of this medieval town. Jane uses rich historical sources to recreate the drama and daily life of Ennis and its place in Irish history and her acclaimed tours provide a highly entertaining and thought-provoking experience. She also runs the Dark History Tour which provides an in-depth exploration of the darker side of the towns history, and the Gourmet History Tour - a combination of history and food with some local food tastings.

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At a glance

Duration: 1 h 10 min
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–15
Guide: English
Operated by: Jane O'Brien

What is included

Included

Included: There is the option for the guide to use an amplification device for ease of listening.

Not included

Not included: Gratuities - always appreciated, but never expected

Itinerary

Clare Museum

5 min

We begin beside the Clare Museum - formally the site of the old Convent building for the Sisters of Mercy. Participants are introduced to the medieval market town of Ennis which originated in the 13th century.
Daniel O'Connell Monument

5 min

We stop at the Daniel O'Connell Monument in the centre of Ennis - site for many events including the momentus milestone of Catholic Emancipation.
Stop 3

5 min

We stop into one of Ennis's atmospheric bow-ways - small laneways connecting the main streets to what were once the poorer tenament areas of the town.
Ennis Friary

5 min

By the Old Ennis Abbey (circa 1280s) we explore the role of the Franciscan Friars in the development of Ennis town. From here we also have a pretty view of the river Fergus which flows through the town, and the memorials to the famous Irish 1916 uprising against British rule.
Stop 5

5 min

The oldest street in Ennis leading to what was once the palace of the O'Brien Kings, founders of the town. Here we also visit the Friary (originally built 1850s) to experience the beautiful stained glass windows and peacefully atmosphere.
Stop 6

5 min

Stopping by the old convent building we explore some of the archived experiences of children from the orphanage and industrial school that once stood on this site.
Stop 7

5 min

We stop at the McParland House (circa 1620) on Parnell Street - the only know surviving timber framed house in Ireland and the oldest house of the town to be in continuous use without any major alterations to its structure. The original quaint shopfront and half-door evoke an earlier time in the market town.
Stop 8

5 min

We stop beside the building housing the Chapel Lane market, once a church built in 1735 during the penal times. Lane-ways like this saw much overcrowding during the time of the Great Famine in Ireland and we explore the devestation this event had on a town like Ennis.
Stop 9

5 min

As the main market town for Co Clare, Ennis was a main centre for markets for hundreds of years. As well as buying and trading of livestock and produce these markets were also social occasions, with people meeting up, matchmaking...and sometimes engaging in the infamous faction fighting! We explore all this and the meaning of the market day sculpture that stands on the site today.
Stop 10

5 min

This area was once the old "Gallows Green" of the town - we explore the crimes and punishments documented in the the corporation manuscript of Ennis (1660) - many of which seem shocking to our modern eyes!
Stop 11

5 min

This fine building is the main Catholic Church of the region built between 1830 and 1870. Today it stands opposite the Old Ground Hotel, once site of the old town jail, and also today incorporating a haunted towerhouse dating to the 1500's! The tour usually ends here so that people have the option visiting the Cathedral or of returning to the starting point at their leisure via the main pedestrianised shopping street, O'Connell Street.