Loop Head Military Trail

The Loop Head Military Trail is a trail around the coastline of Loop Head from Doonbeg at its most northern point ,south to Loop Head Lighthouse at the tip of the penninsula and then eastwards into the Shannon Estuary finishing at Colmanstown Castle as the Shannon Estuary narrows into the River Shannon proper. It includes sites in the Shannon Estuary on the Kerry shore that are closely associated with similar sites on the Clare side and need to be included to tell the full story. It stops at all military coastal sites of interest from Celtic Ring-forts, Norman Castles ,Lighthouses, Napoleanic Quadrangular Towers and Batteries , Coastguard Stations to 2nd World War Look Out Posts. This long windy coastline has some awesome cliffs and geology to amazing remnants of our past waves of migration from the early Celts, the Vikings and Normans to be followed by the Dutch and Anglo Norman. Every period of Irish turmoil ,invasion and war has places on this coastal route. Today we reside in a place with a rich mix of genetic material from many sources blessed that we have retained and preserved enough of our past to appreciate and enjoy. All sites can be seen on the map and you can follow trail stopping off to enjoy the wonderful history of Kilkee and West Clare.