Things to See & Do Around Castleconnell Research by Cora Moran.   The Village: The village boasts several pubs, three restaurants, butcher's shop, two pharmacies, grocery shop, supermarket, church, hairdresser, village hall, community centre and hotel. There are several good pubs in Castleconell. Guerin’s has a really good traditional music night on Wednesday s from around 9:30 pm. Bradshaw’s has a folk club night on Tuesday s around 9:30 again. Charco’s Pub, Tí Seán restaurant and the Castleoaks Hotel provide excellent fare. There is a nice walk from the Castleoaks Hotel grounds from the footbridge where you can go over the footbridge to the county Clare side and follow a path that takes you (about half an hour) to Doonass where there is a nice waterfall (and pub!). If you like to fish, you can rent a beat [a section of the river]. Contact Paddy Guerin at Guerin’s pub who will rent you rods, and gear and give good advice. [Tel: 061 377407] The Castleoaks hotel nearby has a leisure centre, tennis courts and a 17 meter pool.  You can also visit the nearby University of Limerick pool and facilities, which is in Castletroy and only about three miles away (take a right at the second roundabout on your way into Limerick). The pool there is a 50-meter pool and is open to the public. The nearest best place to swim if the weather is good is in the river Shannon. The local swimming area is called the World's End; it is quite cold and deep but used much by locals during the summer months. To get to World's End go straight down the village past Charco’s pub and straight on.    Shopping: There is a Supervalu supermarket in the village or going back towards Limerick from Castleconnell on the N7 you will meet several roundabouts - the third one “The Kilmurry Roundabout” has another supermarket, a McDonald’s and a cinema called Storm Cinema.  There are other good supermarkets in Limerick City - Tesco’s and Dunne’s Stores. There is also an excellent shopping centre in Dooradoyle on the outskirts of Limerick. Take the exit for Cork on the first roundabout you meet and drive to the end of this road, take the first left at end of this road and take the turn off this road to Dooradoyle. The shopping Centre is called “The Crescent Shopping centre” and also has cinemas, KFC, good clothes and sport shops etc.   Nearby: About seven miles away up the N7 towards Dublin and turn left are the villages of Ballina and Killaloe. These villages are at the crossing of the Shannon and the edge of Lough derg. On Sunday mornings from 11 to 3 there is a small market with fruit, vegetables, homemade cheese, olives, etc. Killaloe and Ballina are very pretty with many local attractions. It is possible to rent a boat for the day or go on a cruiser “The Derg Princess” which leaves the riverbank every day at 2:30 for a trip up to Lough Derg. Lough Derg is a lovely area - on the Clare side you can drive to Mountshannon and take a boat out to Holy Island or on the Tipperary side there are many inlets like Garrykennedy, Dromineer and Terryglass. Another nice nearby area is Murroe - on the road back to Limerick take the first turn left after the first roundabout, you follow this road and the signs for Murroe and then Glenstal Abbey, which is a lovely place for a walk and Sunday evenings the monks can be heard singing. The gardens here are lovely. There is also a lovely place called The Clare Glens - take the Newport road after visiting Glenstal Abbey which should take you by these Glens on the river Clare. Limerick City centre has an excellent food market on Saturday mornings from about 8 to 12 am. For parking in the city you can buy a parking disc and park in certain marked zones or you can park in a car park otherwise you will get a parking ticket costing €25.  There are some very good shops in the centre of the city and some good restaurants also. However most of these shops are also in the Crescent Shopping Centre also where parking is free. The Hunt Museum is quite good and there is a beautiful Cathedral near the Hunt Museum called St Mary’s - well worth a visit. There is a tourist office is in Limerick City also and they are very helpful and have many more suggestions of things to do and see. Another place worth a visit is Bunratty Castle And Folk Park. You will pass this on your way from Shannon Airport on the N18. You will have to take the Shannon or Clare road from Limerick - Bunratty is just a few miles from Limerick. Adare in County Limerick is another famous tourist spot because of the beautiful thatched cottages and manor house. It is on the road to Kerry about 12 miles away.