Loop Head’s the best holiday destination

THE Loop Head Peninsula has been named ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’ following an Irish Times competition, which attracted more than 1,400 entries.
Members of the public were invited to nominate the places they like to holiday. Loop Head was named the overall winner from a shortlist featuring the Glen of Aherlow, Inishbofin island, Derry City and Killarney. An evening of celebration followed in The Long Dock, Carrigaholt on Monday.
Loop Head was nominated by Mary Redmond, who with her husband, Johnny, runs a restaurant in Kilkee.
“I’ve lived here for 38 years. I think it’s the most beautiful place, completely unspoiled, and it has great cliff walks and water sports, diving and swimming. But I don’t think people know about it really, so I decided to tell them. Winning this award will make Loop Head a destination like Dingle or the Ring of Kerry but without the tour buses. We want people to find an Ireland that has largely disappeared,” Mary Redmond explained.
Speaking about the newly crowned Best Place to Holiday in Ireland, Conor Goodman, features editor, The Irish Times and chair of the judging panel, said that the Loop Head peninsula was a “magnificent” location to holiday.
“The judges chose Loop Head Peninsula because of its great natural advantages: majestic cliffs, pretty beaches and a landscape that remains uncluttered by development. But it is the local people’s attitude to this landscape that makes this place special. The roads remain narrow, and grass grows in the middle and walks are not paved. The people of The Loop Head want to keep the place real and invite visitors to see it as it is. And everywhere you will be bowled over by the welcome, the personal touch, the history lesson in every conversation. This is time-machine tourism, a place that looks like 1970s Ireland, yet buzzes with 21st-century inventiveness,” Conor explained.
Meanwhile, Loop Head Tourism chairman Cillian Murphy said local groups have worked for several years to help develop the tourism sector in the region.
“Significant work has been undertaken during the past four to five years in establishing a communitywide approach to tourism development across the peninsula. As a result of this, we have seen many members of the community establish their own tourism-based initiatives that are complemented by the supports being made available by other established local businesses, the Loop Head Tourism network, Clare County Council, Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) and Fáilte Ireland,” he said.
“Loop Head excelled in this competition not only because it possesses a rich variety of visitor attractions and activities and some of Ireland’s most unique scenery but also because it matched the competition criteria that were very much focused on community, sustainability and the quality of the tourism product on offer. This reflects a shift within the tourism sector to visitors looking for a genuine and organic holiday experience, which is something that Loop Head offers in abundance,” Cillian added.
The committee chairman believes sustainable, community-driven tourism plays to the strengths of the Loop Head Peninsula, which extends from Kilkee to Kilbaha.
“Community-driven tourism that is supported by a network of family-run businesses, each with a shared sense of ownership of the overall tourism product, has been key to our success. As a community, we will continue to explore new ways by which we can further enhance this offering and in doing so establish Loop Head Peninsula as one of Ireland’s most unique and successful visitor destinations,” Mr Murphy stated.
Visit www.loophead.ie or www.clare.ie for more information on the Loop Head Peninsula.