Clare Abbey, Clarecastle, Co. Clare– Then & Now – a 3D Journey

A wonderful opportunity arose for Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage & Wildlife Group to get involved in a case study that tells the story of Clare Abbey. The Abbey’s history and architecture are shown in a new and inventive way. The case study has great potential to make history interesting to school children and to teach older students about the fascinating technology involved. The same set of skills could be applied to other sites to enhance knowledge of their history. Ennis-based production company Magpie 6 Media worked in the development of this new animated project, drawing deeply from Irish mythology, with Clarecastle & Ballyea Heritage and Clare Library.
Clare Abbey was founded in the 12th century under the patronage of Domhnall Mór O’Brien, King of Thomond, and was granted to an order of Augustinian Canons. Set on the banks of the River Fergus and in the heart of O’Brien’s territory, it became the most important monastery in County Clare.
The computer programmes used in the case study show the Abbey in all four seasons, with snow or rain or sunshine, at different times of the day or night. Autumn colours in the trees and the flow of the tidal river Fergus as it was at the time of the Abbey, can be increased or reduced. A fine 3D model of the Abbey in ruins has been added.