Celebrating Kilkee’s Strand Line Wall

Text by Richard "Dixie" Collins

Photographs by Willie Glynn

We look over it to see if the tide is in or out, lean against it to have a chat and even jump over it when we are able. More often we sit on it, share time with friends, perhaps to eat periwinkles, or just watch the world go by on sunny summer days.

For many it is more than just a stone wall, it has a value beyond mere stone on stone, holding warm memories of friends met or times past.

As a small child the wall, the pavement and the sky above seemed to be the total universe. Then with climbing ability came the cries of anxious parents who chastised you for flirting with danger when all you wanted was adventure. Then they let you tenderly balance on it like a tight rope holding your hand in the absence of a safety net.

Older still it was an act of bravery to jump the bigger gaps as we tested ourselves off each other. And while the occasional bruise disappeared the experiences were there forever..

The ailing repairs, largely concrete, seen from the seaward side

From the Pollock holes in the West End the wall curves for over a mile to the East End of the seaside town defining the man made boundary between land and sea. The view beyond the wall out to sea takes in the horseshoe strand protected by the Pollock holes and Georges Head. Despite these natural defences, the wall is up to 30 feet in places protecting houses against spring tides and driving gales. Only very occasionally is it breached as was the occasion when Kilkee was hit by the tail end of a hurricane. It was reported that fish were found in the gutters of houses on the stand line and residents were evacuated to the convent.

The original repaired section, mostly ugly concrete, from the pavement side

A marvel of workmanship built in hard times that has stood the test of winter storms for over 150 years. Surviving the damage of storms as well as the occasional car crash it will be needed more that ever given increased sea levels predicted through global warming in the years ahead.

How it got there in the first place is an interesting story in itself:

Early recordings from the Limerick Chronicle and Clare Journal tell of an initial letter expressing the Marquis of Cunningham's willingness to work with the Board of Works in 1846 to develop a carriageway or an embankment for the cliff on the West End of Kilkee which has long been in a dangerous state.

The fear was that Mrs Shannon's Hotel, now the two houses behind the white alleys, would fall into the sea. The building of the wall happened just as some major road works were taking place. In 1848, two hundred and fifty men went to work on the road from the west end side of Kilkee to Moveen by the cliffs thus developing the sublime scenery on the coast and the picturesque rural view of the interior.

Work in progress on the restoration organised by the Trust

The Limerick Chronicle in 1848 states "... on the road from Kilkee to Kilrush every hill is being cut and levelled, so that any passenger-car may travel the 8 miles distance, with perfect ease, in one hour, which used to occupy an hour and a half ..."

Kilkee was at that stage a favourite bathing place for respectable residents of Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. It was also attracting visitors from England and Europe who travelled from Limerick on Turf Boats to Kilrush and by carriage to Kilkee. Charlotte Bronte, the famous English author, stayed in Mrs Shannon's Hotel on her honeymoon in 1851. This was a great time for resorts like Kilkee where seaside trips were becoming all the fashion.

The building of the wall was to play a major part in establishing Kilkee as an attractive and fashionable place for visitors. Given the hard times that were there in the 1850’s with a shortage of funding and famine rampant amongst the local population it is easy to see that it would take a good length of time to complete the work. In 1846, 750 men were laid off the public works in the town. The wall was to take nearly 20 years to build using stone form Walton’s Quarry in the West End. Each stone cut by hand and drawn by horse and car to be lowered into place. Today you can see on the capping stone where holes were drilled and methylated spirits was used to split the stone along the desired lines. Surveyors were meticulous when it came to inspecting work. Indeed they were to makea very minute inspection of the works. Were the stones cut to the agreed dimensions? Was it bonded with gravel and not sea sand?

The restoration work, seen from the seaward side

A court case taken against Mr Coffey in 1857 and documented in the Clare Journal shows how particular the standards were and how it could in this case not be disproved that the works he did were not as durable and as well done as any public contractor in the country. Mr Coffey has successfully argued that he had used locally available materials. It has been recorded locally that one contractor would get gangs of workers to compete with each giving a barrel of porter to teams that had done most by the weekend.

The Limerick Chronicle on August 24th 1865 states that: "... the building of the sea wall at the East End of Kilkee ended with a wall which looks as solid and steadfast as the cliffs themselves ..."

It wasn't without great effort, and this comment from a correspondent in the Limerick Chronicle in 1847 harrowingly states: "... I am sorry to inform you that Kilkee, I fear, will soon be a second Skibereen, the starving poor day after day are falling off the works and dying ..."

The new work, with capping stones, from the seaward side

The view of the new section, from the pavement

The Detail of new work and cappings

We certainly owe a lot to the families who built this wall in hard times. Populations in West Clare were many times what they are now and famine was rampant. Making a living was hard which makes the effort that went into the wall all the more appreciated. What started in 1846 and was completed in 1865 enabled Kilkee to develop and become the "Queen of Irish Bathing Places".

The Kilkee Civic Trust is helping raise awareness of the history of the wall, in the hope that we can maintain it with the care with which it was built in the first place. Clare County Council and the Heritage Council are key partners in this work which has already commenced with the restoration of stone work at Syke's Corner.

There is a plan to continue restoration work. Insuring the same high standards will be maintained in restoration and when repairs are done from future storm damage. What better way to give appreciation to great craftsmen than to ensure the wall is there for future generations to jump over, sit on, or just eat periwinkles on a sunny summer day.

Thanks to Tom Byrne, West End, and now Dublin, for his research that enabled us appreciate the great efforts that went into building the wall.