The Lodges at Shannon Oaks Hotel

Visitor Attractions

Turoe Pet Farm

Turoe pet farm is roughly about a thirty minute drive from Portumna, it is ideal for all pet lovers as they can visit the pet corner, follow the nature trail, there is an indoor play area which include Irelands first inflatable city, a ball pond, adventure land, bouncing castles and games room. Outdoor amenities include a football pitch and playgrounds, which is ideal for children containing swings, slide and tree houses. The following is a list of amenities in Turoe pet farm:

• Nature Trails with Seating
• Pets Corner
• Indoor Picnic Area with Shop
• Coffee/Sweet Shop
• Hand Crafted Souvenirs
• Coach & Car Park
• Playgrounds with Swings\Slides
• Football Pitch
• Children's Corner
• Wishing Well
• Old Farm Machinery
• Toilets
• Baby Changing Rooms

Cinema

For all those who are not interested in the outdoor activities, there is a cinema in Nenagh, which is only a thirty-minute drive.

Portumna's Forest Park

The lake fringed Forest Park and Wildlife sanctuary is home to a variety of species of birds and deer. It is an excellent setting for relaxing walks, scenic picnics and beautiful nature trails. Picnics and chilled wines are available at the Clonwyn. The walks have been developed along the shoreline and are surrounded by beautiful hedges and fuchsia. If you are interested in bird watching or relaxing, this is the perfect place to spend your afternoon.

Portumna Forest Park provides a welcome amenity to this important market town. Its mile long sign-posted trail guides you through a world of common and exotic trees. There are sixteen species of wild animals and eighty-five varieties of birds living beneath the green mantle. Portumna's Forest Park offers lovely views and walks of the countryside which can be enjoyed by all the family, the walks also cater for people with special needs, it is specially designed so that it is fully accessible to people with younger children in buggies. There is a wheelchair friendly picnic area, which suits all age groups. The park is easily accessible by water and road.

The forest is mainly coniferous but also contains a wide variety of broadleaved trees, both native and exotic. In addition to woodlands there are wide-open spaces, green fields, scrub, marsh, water and numerous offshore islands. This inter mix of forest, open area, water and islands gives a wide choice of habitat to support a great variety of flora and fauna.

Historical Sites

Portumna Priory

Portumna Priory was a Cistercian chapel attached to the monastery of Dunbrody in County Wexford; it was built in 1254 but was taken over by the Dominicans in 1426 when a papal indulgence was granted for its completion. The Priory was suppressed during the Reformation but was revived again in 1640, it came into the ownership of the Earl of Clanricarde, and the Friars abandoned it in 1712. The Priory was used as a Protestant Church in 1762 until the completion of the existing church in 1832. The Priory contains the tomb of the Earl of Clanricarde and his wife but no details are available. The ruins are now a national monument and are in very good condition, it is situated beside Portumna Castle.

Portumna Castle

Portumna castle is built near the shore of Lough Derg on the river Shannon; Portumna was one of the first, if not the first building in the country to admit some of the Renaissance refinements already common in Italy and France for over a century, but which took so long to filter through to Ireland. The shell of this great mansion conveys an impression of alien splendour, and the overall effect is unique and has a curiously continental air. The Renaissance features of the exterior of Portumna are strictly speaking limited to the fine door case of the front entrance and the Tuscan gateway of the innermost courtyard, but the very layout is an expression of Renaissance ideas. The castle is symmetrical in shape and consists of three stories over a basement with square corner projecting towers. The castle is in the town of Portumna and is approached from Abbey Street or Castle Avenue entering through the Castle gates. The Castle itself was burned down accidentally in 1826 and remained as a ruin until work commenced on its restoration; it contained some beautiful furniture, library, ancient paintings and family portraits, the castle was richly decorated with plasterwork friezes, carved armorial bearings and beautiful paneling, to date, the shell and the internal walls have been faithfully restored and the roof and chimneys which are in place protect the castle from the elements, the windows, fireplaces and flooring joists and basement have been restored and elaborate archaeological work has been carried out on the outside. Once the main staircase and internal floors have been installed, the most difficult of the restoration work will have been achieved. The castle and its gardens are well worth a visit.

Rathbaun Open Farm

This is a unique visit for the traveler with a tour, or for the individual visitor giving you an opportunity to sample for your self the real experience of farm life in rural Ireland.