You may travell far far from your own native home
Far away o'er the mountains, far away o'er the foam
But of all the fine places that ever I've been
There's none to compare with the cliffs of Dooneen

Take a view o'er the mountains fine sights you'll see there
You'll see the high rocky mountains on the west coast of Clare
Oh the towns of Kilkee and Kilrush can be seen
From the high rocky slopes round the cliffs of Dooneen

It's a nice place to be on a fine summer's day
Watching all the wild flowers that ne'er do decay
Oh the hare and lofty pheasant are plain to be seen
Making homes for their young round the cliffs of Dooneen

Fare thee well to Dooneen, fare thee well for awhile
And to all the fine places that I'm leaving behind
To the streams and the meadows where lately I've been
And the high rocky slopes round the cliffs of Dooneen

There's a "Dooneen" Point on the Kerry shore, 3 miles north of Ballybunion. Kilkee is 8 miles directly north across the Shannon estuary, and Kilrush is 8 miles to the north east.

A note about The Cliffs of Dooneen

Big Tim writes on MudCatdotOrg, "I haven't been there, so I don't know if both towns would be visible. However, from the 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey map, I'd say so. Kilrush is across open water and the angle is quite tight but the north west area of the town looks to be visible. Kilkee is across 3 miles of water and 5 more of flat Clare countryside.

I'd say that Dooneen means "little fort" and there is indeed the ruin of a "promontory fort" marked as being there. From that specific point, Kilrush wouldn't be visible (Beal Point, two miles north east would block the view). However, if the songwriter (who was he, or she?) walked about a quarter of a mile north east, Kilrush would probably begin to come into view. I hope that's clear!

If there are any cliffs there, they must be modest ones, as they are not marked on the OS map. There are no roads leading to Dooneen, so if the writer did indeed stand there, he, or she, must have walked across about half a mile of open countryside."

This an entry from Big Tim on MudCatdotOrg

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