Hidden gem exposed in new heritage guide

A BEAUTIFUL new illustrated heritage guide to the ancient Clondegad parish in the heart of Clare has been produced in the multiple award-winning tidy town village of Ballynacally.
Supported by Ballynacally Development Association and Clare Local Development Company, Clondegad, A Heritage Guide is a thoroughly researched, accessibly written and superbly presented visual introduction to a hidden gem of Ireland’s Shannon Region for both history buffs and general visitors.
Rarely promoted for its rich cultural and natural heritage, stunning landscape and riverside vistas and strategic estuarine location, this guide brings to life Clondegad’s finest attractions and hidden histories from the scenic Ballynacally village and its panoramic surrounding pastures, historical craglands and magnificent native woodlands right up to the northern valley forts and the tranquil holy waters of the Abhainn Sliabh, the river which courses the veins of the Ballynacally/Lissycasey parish.
Produced by Daniel McCarthy, MD of Boru Cultural Enterprises and its international publishing and exhibition development platform, The Heritage Factory, the guide is matched by poetic verse and historical insight on each of its lavish full coloured pages. Daniel is also the best-selling author of The Book of Clare and has written extensively as a historian and editor on Clare and its people in acclaimed works such as Clare History and Society, Ireland’s Banner County, The Citizen, Kilkee – A Sporting Odyssey and Clare Live the Life Tourism Guide. The county has also featured in his Celtic Times column in the leading media voice of Irish America, irishcentral.com. This heritage guide is the first of a number of forthcoming historical productions that he is working on for the coming year.
Commenting on this project, the Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes cited the premium value the Irish people must place on its ability to harness skilfully its indigenous resources and what greater than what lay around us, the history and heritage of our people, both at home and abroad. Pat Breen TD highlighted this project as the type of initiative which “ideally leverages our cultural tourism value towards local and international audiences and urged further works on tapping the tourism potential of the Fergus Islands, once significant enough to attract direct papal intervention centuries ago”.
They called for local and business support for heritage tourism enterprises such as The Heritage Factory and Cacogee Multimedia.