One thing, or rather fifteen or more things, that the visitor to Ennis notices, is the number of sculptures dotted around the town. Some of these are great monumental works, like the soldier on the Kilrush Road - A Private Remembers - a tribute to those who have suffered in famine and war or the memorial, opposite the Abbey, to those who died in 1916, following the Easter Rising. Most, however, are small, modest pieces, part of the Ennis Sculpture Initiative of the late 1990s.
To see the sculptures at their best, and to be sure of not missing any, begin at Mill Road, next door to the tennis club, and follow the mapped route. This takes you around the mill area, taking in "Memory and Meaning" the joyous celebration of Clare's 1995 hurling victory and the mysterious ambiguities of "A Fishy Tale" and "Four Minds". Then follow the river through the centre of town past St Brendan's "Dream Boat", the disembodied "Sleepy Head and Helping Hands", and the fiddler showing that "Contentment is Wealth" until you reach the weary "Weathered Woman" outside the newspaper offices. You may not have any more idea than me what they all mean, but you'll have walked around most of Ennis, discovered some of its treasures, and upgraded your internal culture rating, all without paying a cent.