"Ennis, Bustling Town, Historical Treasure Trove" Top 5 Page for this destination Ennis by WhispersWest

Ennis, in Co. Clare, seems to be overlooked by tourists coming to the West of Ireland. Not that I am complaining, as it is a bustling community too large to be called a village, more industrial than most towns and yet, too small to be dubbed as a city.

It is the uniqueness of its design, narrow, meandering streets, Ruins and Architecturally unique Church Buildings and its ever present history, which makes Ennis such a delight to explore, whether as a family, couple or group.

We have stayed in Ennis in three day snips. One day, I want to take a week there to savor all she has to offer. The time we spent there seemed to just slip by too quickly.

The people we met were engaging, friendly and quite willing to provide us with an insiders view of Ennis

Our first visit to Ennis in July of 2006 found us in the Poet's Corner, a bar frequented by locals and visitors in equal numbers, located in the Old Grounds Hotel. On its walls are Paintings of some of the Great Poets and Authors throughout the earlier centuries. You would think that each would have a placard identiying the person's name and life dates.

However, that is not the case. Being writers and performers of Poetry, we were trying to ascertain who was depicted in each portrait, debating loudly as to what we believed was the most logical choice. Seeking to end the debate, one of my partners decided to ask a local what the name was of one of the authors. He tapped a young man on the shoulder, red hair and freckles meant he was a local most assuredly, and asked him if he knew the name of the fellow in the portrait. Without the ghost of a smile or hesitation, the young man replied, "Why that is my Great Uncle, Fred." and went back to his pint. Noting the befuddled look on my partner's face, he grinned and said, "I'm from Pennsylvania and really have no clue!".

Never, ever assume!

• Pros:Close to Shannon Airport, Historical sites, Custy's Music Shop
• Cons:Narrow, One Way Streets
• In a nutshell:Great BAse for Exploring Co. Clare