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A traditional shop selling everything tweedy for men and women with conservative tastes, including the famous Donegal tweed. Wonderful old-fashioned service too.

The best of Irish contemporary design for both men and women. Their own-label clothes are every bit as good as the designers they stock, and the prices are reasonable. Pottery, lights and glass objects are also on sale.

A chic marina town rising steeply from the southern end of Lough Derg, Killaloe is a centre for watersports. Its 12th-century St Flannan’s Cathedral and Oratory have Romanesque decorative stonework.

On the doorstep of the Ring of Kerry, with a clutch of excellent hotels and old-fashioned ponies and traps, it’s not surprising that this attractive town becomes inundated with visitors in summer. The shops and restaurants are worth the visit, let alone the surrounding scenery.

An exciting place to be when the boats come in, Killybegs is one of the busiest fishing ports in the country. As the trawlers unload their catches gulls squawk over the water in an attempt to claim a discarded morsel.

An astonishing set of monastic ruins survives here. The original church established in AD 610 was enlarged over the centuries and replaced by a cathedral in the 14th century, though keeping many features of the older buildings, including a 10th-century door. Around it are a number of other intriguing 13th- and 14th-century ecclesiastical buildings. There’s also a Leaning Tower.

After a sobering tour of the onetime prison, lighten the mood at the former hospital, which now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Built in 1651 for the Earl of Meath, the formal gardens are its main feature.

While Kilrush itself is unremarkable, it makes a good base for exploring the furthest reaches of southwest County Clare. Especially worthwhile is a drive out to remote Loop Head. For an insight into local history, particularly the hardships of the region under English rule, visit the Kilrush Heritage Centre.