Tag Archives: John Davoren

The dedication of generations of Davorens to preserving the ancient heritage of North Clare will be recognised later this month as John Davoren of Caherconnell Stone Fort will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Galway. The lineage of the O’Davoren Clan in the Burren can be traced back to around 600AD, and John Davoren’s ancestors have been farming on the land around Caherconnell Stone Fort for at least 300 years. Their commitment to the ancient heritage of the area began long before they developed the fort as a tourist attraction and an archaeological field school. Indeed, generations of Davorens have felt a responsibility for the fort and a commitment to maintain it as a living record of the past. “We are on this land for 300 years at least. When the genealogy centre was first opened in Corofin, the first family that they looked into was the O’Davorens. We have been in this area from around 600AD, …

WITH strict Covid-19 social distancing guidelines still in place, John Davoren has trained his famous sheepdogs at Caherconnell cashel fort in the Burren to demonstrate the concept. It makes for interesting viewing in an online Facebook video for those who might be contemplating visiting the award-winning visitor attraction after it reopens next week. The Border collies separate the sheep into small groups and get them to stay there no matter what distractions there might be. Farming in an area where his family has lived for centuries, John began training dogs, teaching a variety of dogs to work with both sheep and cattle when he was a teenager. Unable to open for 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic put the country into lockdown, John now has everything at the ready to allow visitors walk through the ancient stone fort and see the sheepdog demonstrations without any worries of being too close to anybody else but family members. His unique enterprise attracts people …