You cannot truly say you have been to Ireland until you have driven into the village of Quin, County Clare, on the road that travels west from Scarriff.
Rounding a bend, you catch your first glimpse of the wonderful abbey with its slender tower rising from a sturdy limestone base. The people of West Cork might argue that the approach to Timoleague is even more striking than the approach to Quin. And then, of course, there’s Cashel…