Kilrush

Kilrush Cill Rois
Town
Kilrush town centre
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Clare
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Population  (2006)
• Town	2,694
• Urban	2,657
• Environs	37
Irish Grid Reference	Q992554
Website	www.kilrush.ie

Kilrush (Irish: Cill Rois, meaning 'Church of the Woods') is a coastal town in County Clare, Ireland. It is located near the mouth of the River Shannon in the south-west of the county. Kilrush is a town of great historical significance, being one of the listed Heritage Towns of Ireland.

History

Kilrush has existed since the 16th century but it was not until the 18th century that it underwent major development. This development coincided with the succession of John Ormsby Vandeleur as the wealthiest landlord in the district. Of Dutch origin, the Vandeleur family was the most prominent landlord family in West Clare. They designed the layout of the town and many of the present day street names derive from Vandeleur family names.

John Ormsby Vandeleur built the large family home, Kilrush House in 1808. He owned much of Kilrush. With wealth achieved from a financially beneficial marriage and some political skulduggery, he decided to develop the town. A Scots businessman James Paterson, who had been a gunboat lieutenant until 1802, assisted him in this project. Paterson entered the oats trade in west Clare and in 1802 he was given a site on the square from Vandeleur and erected a six-storey building.

The Napoleonic Wars (1799–1815) led to an improvement in agricultural prices. As Kilrush and the neighbouring countryside began to prosper, Hely Dutton reported in 1808 that the town was ‘rising fast into some consequence’. He also acknowledged Paterson’s role as a ‘very active and intelligent inhabitant, who has been of the utmost benefit to Kilrush, and the adjoining counties’. In 1812 Paterson went into the shipping business and by 1817 he had a steamboat operating regularly between Limerick and Kilrush. The increasing popularity of Kilkee as a bathing resort brought many transit travellers to Kilrush.

Monument to the Manchester Martyrs in the town

In 1837 Samuel Lewis described Kilrush as a seaport, market and post town. The main industries, chiefly for home consumption, were flannels, stockings and bundle cloth. The main trade was corn, butter, pigs, agricultural products and hides. There were works for refining rock salt for domestic use, a tan-yard, a soap factory and a nail factory. Branches of the national and agricultural banks had been opened in the town and a constabulary police force was also stationed there. A small prison was built in 1825 and a court house in 1831.

However the famine years (1845–1849) brought much hardship to Kilrush. Famine, evictions, fever and cholera reduced the population of south-west Clare to such an extent that it never again attained its pre-famine numbers. This was vividly dramatised for radio in 1980. In the post-famine era, the Vandeleur name became synonymous with the worst of landlord evictions, with over 20,000 evicted in the Kilrush Union. The Kilrush workhouse witnessed terrible deprivation and deaths. By that stage Hector Vandeleur had succeeded John Ormsby Vandeleur.

Kilrush survived these setbacks and with the arrival of the West Clare Railway towards the end of the 19th century, developed into a bustling market town. The designation of Kilrush as a Heritage Town recognises its legacy as a landlord estate town with a rich maritime and market tradition. There is a long maritime tradition in the town and the presence of a 1500 year old monastic settlement at Scattery Island (just offshore) shows that clearly. The old port of Kilrush is now home to a 120 berth marina with lock gate access to the Shannon Estuary and the Atlantic Ocean. An impressive walled garden on the grounds of the old Vandeleur estate can still be visited today, though their home was gutted by fire in the late 19th century.

Acclaimed stained glass windows in Saint Senan's Church Kilrush, created by the Harry Clarke Studios in 1932

Kilrush hosts a traditional Irish music festival in August of each year, the Éigse Mrs. Crotty festival, so named after a famed concertina player from the town.

From 1951 through to 1966, Kilrush supported an Operatic Society of renown, with productions of "The Student Prince" 1951 to "Faust", "Tosca", "Lucia" to name a few. The principal artistes hailed from all over Europe while the operas were produced by: Powell Lloyd of Covent Garden. The society has been re-born under the banner of the "Kilrush Choral Society" and has five highly successful seasons under its belt. Their first show "My Fair Lady" (2005) was followed by "The Sound of Music" (2006) followed by "Oliver" (2007) and "Showboat" (2008) while their most recent 2009 production was of "Sunrise Sunset", a variety of five different musicals. The aim of the present society is to eventually branch into Grand Opera.

Scattery Island is a small island in the Shannon estuary about 15 minutes from Kilrush by boat. It was once a monastic settlement founded by St. Senan. It features one of the oldest and tallest round towers in Ireland.

Offshore resides a large pod of Bottlenose dolphins who are resident year-round in the estuary. Ferries to the island and dolphin tours are available year-round, weather permitting. 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Kilrush is the seaside resort of Kilkee, a sandy horseshoe bay on the Atlantic coast.

Sport

The town has an 18 hole golf course on the Ennis Road.

Sailing is also very popular. Classes and instructions on boating are available at the town marina. The Western Yacht Club has in the last decade been rejuvenated, being one of the oldest yacht clubs in the world.

Tennis, football (soccer) and athletics are catered for at the Cooraclare Road complex (under age and junior clubs). The rugby club is based on the Doonbeg Road.

Although Kilrush has enjoyed moderate success in some sports, the town's passion is Gaelic Football. Kilrush Shamrocks GAA Club is located on the Killimer Road. The ground, Captain Tubridy Memorial Park is traditionally called "The Cricket Field", since it was used for that sport during the 19th century. The club was founded in 1886 and has recorded 21 county titles, although recent history has seen the coveted title eluding the club.

Schools

Kilrush has two primary schools and one secondary school. St. Senans NS is an English speaking school, the other is an Irish speaking Gaelscoil, which is called Gaelscoil Ui Choimin. The secondary school is called Kilrush Community School which is located within walking distance of the primary schools.

Transport

Kilrush is on the N68 Ennis to Kilrush road. The approach from the north and east is via the N18 (west) from Limerick or Shannon and N18 (south) from Galway. Kilrush is about 30 minutes from Ennis, 1 hour from Limerick and 45 minutes from Shannon Airport. It can be reached from Dublin in approx. 3 hours, thanks to recent motorway upgrades on both the Limerick and Galway routes to Dublin.

From the south there is a Car Ferry from Tarbert (County Kerry) to Killimer, which is 5 minutes drive from Kilrush. Crossing time is 20 minutes.

Kilrush was once one of the twin termini of the West Clare Railway from Ennis, the neighbouring town of Kilkee being the other (see Irish railway history). The railway closed in 1961 but a short section of the railway has been re-opened at Moyasta as a tourist attraction. One of the original steam engines on the route, the Slieve Callan has been lovingly restored.

Kilrush Creek Marina is the first stopping point at the Atlantic Ocean end of the Shannon Estuary, with its lock gates providing protection from the tidal estuary. There are ample berths and onshore facilities for visiting sailors. There is a 40 tonne travel Hoist for lifting out boats and ample storage.

Bus service: The town is serviced by buses run by Bus Éireann between 3 to 4 times a day depending on season.

Notable people

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1821	3,465	—
1831	3,966	+14.5%
1841	5,071	+27.9%
1851	4,471	−11.8%
1861	4,593	+2.7%
1871	4,424	−3.7%
1881	3,805	−14.0%
1891	4,095	+7.6%
1901	4,179	+2.1%
1911	3,666	−12.3%
1926	3,345	−8.8%
1936	3,426	+2.4%
1946	3,351	−2.2%
1951	3,154	−5.9%
1956	3,000	−4.9%
1961	2,861	−4.6%
1966	2,734	−4.4%
1971	2,671	−2.3%
1981	2,753	+3.1%
1986	2,961	+7.6%
1991	2,740	−7.5%
1996	2,594	−5.3%
2002	2,699	+4.0%
2006	2,694	−0.2%

• Thomas Cusack (1858–1926), Chicago Democrat U.S. Representative from Illinois 4th District, 1899–1901, was born in Kilrush
• Joe Jacob, Fianna Fáil politician
• Fr. John O'Brien (1931–2008), founder of the St. James's Choir
• Pat Upton, politician and veterinarian
• Michael Tubridy, original member of The Chieftains
• Gregory Young, amateur golfer who played international golf for Ireland and finalist in the South of Ireland five times
• Joe McDermott, professional golfer and winner of the Irish Senior Open in 1998
• David Richard Pigot (1796–1873), leading Irish judge, was a native of Kilrush, where his father was the local doctor
• Mrs. Crotty - musician

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Twin towns — sister cities

Kilrush has been twinned with the town of Plouzané in Brittany, France since 1982.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• List of RNLI stations
• Market Houses in Ireland

External links

• Kilrush.ie
• WestClare.com
• Visit the Shannon Estuary's resident dolphin population