My mam, Peggy had “The Hills of Donegal” as one of her party pieces.  On each occasion I’d hear her lilt "Oh Donegal the pride of all" about an exile’s pain and living in the hope of seeing those hills again …but I had never been to see those hills.  Donegal in the North West of Ireland is probably the furthest you can travel from my homeplace in South Tipperary while still remaining on the island of Ireland.  So finally in 2008 and 2010 I got to see this

Well, as the Ralph McTell song said “it’s a long way from Clare to here”. ….but wow is it so worth the trip.  I’ve always had a soft spot for Co. Clare ever since I first visited on a student road trip with a couple of friends many moons ago.  The beauty and wildness of the place is unsurpassed.  The towns and villages are colourful and buzzing with life.  In 2009, I was privileged to stay in Moy House for four nights over the August Bank Holiday weekend.  At that time it was being run as a small boutique hotel/guesthouse just outside Lahinch with gorgeous views of Liscannor Bay. 

Over the last few weeks, I’ve had a chance to relive that stay with the wonderful views as I caught up with “Smother” the suspense series (on Prime Video and Apple TV) which was actually filmed in the former Moy House.  Sadly, I read here that Moy House will no longer be used as a hotel/guesthouse….but Clare us still a wonderful destination.  This blog post is about how we got on and what we did there…Enjoy!