Burren Community

When referring to the Burren, the term ‘community’ has many interpretations. Within the Burren itself there are several distinct parishes, townlands and villages, each of which would have a sense of community not necessarily linked to the ‘Burren’. Indeed many local people feel that the term ‘Burren’ is one that is mostly used by visitors to describe the region. At another level, the Burren ‘community’ could refer to those people scattered all over the world who have a special place in their heart for this landscape.

But to start with, where is the Burren, and how large is it? Well, the Burren region is located along Ireland’s mid-western coast, lying across two counties, Clare and Galway, though it is more commonly associated with the former. It is estimated that the Burren uplands region (rising to a height of 300m) extends over 360 square kms, while the Burren lowlands to the east cover a further c.200 sq. kms.

The Burren upland region is bounded by Galway Bay to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The southern limit is usually defined by the expanse of wet, Namurian shales running from Doolin in the south west, looping around Lidsoonvarna and onward to Corofin via Kilfenora. The eastern limit is more difficult to define as the terraced hills give way to the vast expanses of low-lying pavement known as the ‘Gort lowlands’ which stretch as far east as Gort, and as far north as Ardrahan or beyond, in Co. Galway.

The Burren is a predominantly rural landscape. In contrast to prehistoric upland settlement patterns, all of the Burren’s main towns and villages lie along the northern (Ballyvaughan, Kinvara) or western (Fanore, Doolin) seashore, or, more commonly, along the shale interface to the south of the region (Lisdoonvarna, Kilfenora, Kilnaboy, and Corofin). The only exceptions are Carran, Boston and Tubber, small farming communities located in the central Burren. From the most recently available population data, the population of the Burren uplands (90,756 acres or 367 sq. km) in June 1996 was 2,603 persons, a 7.3% increase from the figure of five years previously (2,426).

This section contains a brief overview of local Burren communities from the perspective of society, religion, culture and economy - a celebration of the people of the fertile rock.