Andrew Lambert

Kilfenora Hall Committee is inviting all Kilfenora residents to contribute their thoughts to creating a strategy for the Hall. A public consultation meeting is to take place between 5 and 7pm on Sunday 4 October to discuss how to future-proof the Community Hall, with 4 topics listed for special attention – building and maintenance, finance and management, activities (across the ages) and volunteering. Children are welcome to attend with parents, and refreshments will be provided.

History and context

Kilfenora Hall was built in the 1950s by Tommy Hogan, and acquired later for the community by the Catholic Church. It was renovated and publicly re-opened in 1984 by the President of Ireland, Patrick Hillery; famously, Kitty Linnane had the clout to be able to telephone the President and invite him to do this. The Hall has been the location for many memorable social events – with many céilís featuring the Kilfenora Céilí Band in the past – and for sports activities, including for many years hosting the Kilfenora Boxing Club. And of course many fine play productions have taken place in the Hall over the decades.

The Hall has received new investment in recent times, helping to make it warmer and better equipped. More internal renovation is still required, and there is a specific intention for the Hall (in collaboration with the Burren Visitor Centre) to act as an emergency hub, learning lessons from Storm Eowyn last year.

However, there is much that could be done to make the Hall a more vibrant centre of community activity, and it is with this in mind that the Hall Committee in conjunction with the Tidy Towns team has launched this new strategy project and invited the community to contribute their thoughts.

As has been done since 2022, free events have been organised by Kilfenora Development Community Group for National Heritage Week, for the benefit of the local community and any passing visitors.  All will be held at the Burren Visitor Centre. Capacity is limited, so do arrive promptly to get a seat. The events are

“Keeping the art of storytelling alive in Clare” – Sunday 16 August (2-3pm) with Balor O’Brien, Paddy Hynes.

“The concertina in Ireland and Clare” – Sunday 23 August (2-3pm) with Dr. Tim Collins

“Evolution of Archaeology in Ireland – successes and challenges” – Sunday 23 August (3-4pm) with Elaine Lynch.

Click here for more details.

 

On Thursday 21 May 2026 the Burren Explorer bus service restarts for a second year, and is scheduled to operate until 20 September. Kilfenora is a key hub for bus services to a range of other Burren villages, towns and attractions. The Explorer website can be found here.

There have been significant improvements made since 2025, addressing many of the defects pointed out to the Explorer project team before the launch last year, but not responded to. However in recent months the Explorer team started to engage and learn from community representatives and some local businesses. The Local Link bus team also provided useful advice.
Improvements include simpler and more joined up timetables – for example Doolin is now connected to Kilfenora (new BC2 service), and in general Kilfenora has better connections than in 2025. Users can use the TFI app to work out their journeys, integrating the Explorer with Bus Eireann and Local Link services to Kilfenora and around N Clare. Pre-booking is no longer required. There are supposed to be seasonal bus stops placed in Kilfenora Square (not installed yet). Free entry to the Cliffs of Moher visitor centre is still included.

Following the example set last year by the Burren Visitor Centre, the Explorer now provides suggested itineraries, so that visitors can plan their day using the Bus to tour around the area.

Unfortunately there are still flaws, particularly in the website’s descriptions of villages – text errors, some misinformation and quite uneven descriptions (some local facilities/attractions described and others notably absent). This arises from a continuing failure to consult local communities and businesses. The defects have been pointed out to the Explorer team but so far there is no sign of correction. This may annoy or amuse local users, but visitors obviously deserve accurate information.
Also the service only covers a few months of what is now an extended tourism season; there is no direct connection from Kilfenora to the National Park, despite huge visitor demand for this; and as yet there is no published advice for disabled travellers (legally required), despite this being requested.

Overall, however a free bus service must be surely be welcomed. Local residents are encouraged to use it as an alternative to driving – and to ensure any visitors they deal with are well informed. Both the environment and road safety will be helped by having less cars on our crowded rural roads.

There are printed timetables in the Burren Visitor Centre, and the Explorer website has all the information on itineraries and downloadable timetables. The Explorer team in particular hope the service is well supported by accommodation providers, local businesses and residents. This is important if this service is to have a long-term future.

St.Fachnan’s Cathedral in Kilfenora has secured €92,271 under the 2026 round of the Community Monuments Fund, issued by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This was the only grant afforded to County Clare. (The highest number went to Cork, which received 12 grants.) The support of Clare County Council was required for the application to go forward.

There have been several attempts to apply for funding since Kilfenora Development Community Group first approached the Church of Ireland in 2020 to point out the level of disrepair this historic structure has experienced. Due to the persistence in particular of the current Vicar, the Rev Vicki Wright, the gutters and windows have since been repaired, and this grant has been won. It will enable substantial work to take place to continue weather-proofing the building and restore its plaster work, using traditional methods such as limewash which help the walls to ‘breathe’.

For some years now the intention has been, once grant aid was achieved, to enable the building to be re-opened publicly and used more regularly for both religious services and events. This grant represents a big step forward towards getting the building back in shape, and back in regular use.

The end-goals of the conservation work include enabling the building to be heated better and made more comfortable. The Cathedral has been used occasionally for special services, an art exhibition and for the annual Riches of Clare concert at the Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival. However these tend to be the only times that the historic interior of the Cathedral and its fascinating artefacts can be seen. Restoration in the interior includes repairing the prominent McDonough family memorial, and externally in 2026 more work will be done on the Cathedral’s distinctive gable end.

Conservation Architect Karol O’Mahony is overseeing the works. Stonemason Eoin Madigan is also engaged; the Madigan family were well-known Kilfenora stone workers stretching back over generations (and Pat Madigan was a prominent member of the Kilfenora Céilí Band.)

Kilfenora is known as the ‘City of the Crosses’ due to the high concentration of Celtic crosses in one location around a cathedral, with the current structure dating from 1058. The interior repairs will enhance the appeal of Kilfenora to visitors to our ancient monuments. Once published, the results of the survey of the Cathedral’s historic graveyard conducted during 2024-5 will also provide further information for visitors and local residents alike.

Friday night at the Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival 2026 sees the return to its home town of the fabulous Kilfenora Roadshow, last seen here at their launch in 2024. They will be appearing in Vaughan’s Barn on 24th April at 9pm.

This is a highly entertaining trad and folk band – a Culchie Cabaret with Irish traditional musicians, Irish dancers and actors.  Presenting a mixture of music, storytelling, dancing and comedy, they tap into our collective innate divilment, with a special nod to the Co.Clare song archive collection.

The talented crew on the night will be Áine O’Brien, Neil FitzGibbon, Quentin Cooper, Laura Ugur, Mary Claire Ryan, Ashley O’Toole and Adam Downey. They will be joined by very special guests, including comedienne Breda Larkin with her Joe Dolan hits and Kilfenora’s local legend Decky Hunt.

Tickets will be available on the door (€15), or if you want to be sure of a seat, book online now by clicking here.

Tickets are also available online for our Saturday night main concert in Kilfenora Hall by clicking here.

The Irish Independent gave coverage on 27 October 2025 to a remarkable mural in Kilfenora created by artist Marcus O Connor depicting Máire Rua O’Brien (1615-1686).

For many years an earlier mural of Máire Rua featured in the same spot, on the side of what was Nora O’Gorman’s fine craft shop, opposite the Burren Visitor Centre. (Presently the premises is occupied by the Burren Sonas Kindergarten.)

Kilfenora Tidy Towns obtained a grant and commissioned Marcus to conceive and paint a new and striking image of this iconic figure in North Clare’s history. (The model for Maire was local musician Aoife Kelly, who is also the creator of the fantastic Sounds of Kilfenora website launched at the 2025 Kilfenora Traditional Music Festival.)

As summarised in an explanatory panel in the Burren Visitor Centre foyer, Maire Rua O’Brien was an astounding political survivor of the turbulence in C17 Ireland, managing to negotiate the survival and prosperity of her family through the Cromwellian invasion and civil war. Through her youth and 3 marriages, she lived in numerous notable castles in Co Clare, including Dromoland, Bunratty, Dysert O’Dea, Ballynagowan (Smithstown) and of course Leamaneh, whose transformation into a grand manor she funded and managed.

As local archaeologist Edel Barry mentioned in a recent Clare FM interview about the project (listen here), Maire O’Brien was also the subject of many fanciful and often negative stories concocted after her death. In an illustrated lecture in Kilfenora Hall during National Heritage Week 2024, the distinguished Clare historian Risteárd Ua Cróinín explored the results of his research (commissioned by Kilfenora) into both the fact and fiction associated with this fascinating character. A condensed version of this lecture may be viewed online here.

As Edel also commented, it is hoped that further artistic projects may be devised for Kilfenora, to add to the collection of fine street art in North Clare (including in Ennistimon, Corofin and Lisdoonvarna).