Lahinch

Lahinch or Lehinch is a small town on Liscannor Bay, on the northwest coast of County Clare, Ireland. It lies on the N67 national secondary road, between Milltown Malbay and Ennistymon, roughly by road southwest of Galway and northwest of Limerick. The town is a seaside resort and is home to the Lahinch Golf Club. It has become a popular surfing location.EtymologyLahinch is the anglicised form of Leath Inse, meaning peninsula. This is not related to Leacht Uí Chonchubhair, which means "O'Connor's Grave", referring to the memorial cairn (Leacht) marking the burial place of one of the O’Connor chieftains, who were the ruling clan of the district of Corco Modhruadh Iartharach.The town was recorded by the Annals of the Four Masters as Leith Innse, which is a variant of the Irish word for a peninsula leithinis ("half island"), which describes the village's location between the Inagh River and the sea. The town today is mostly spelled "Lahinch", but some road signs in the area use the spelling "Lehinch".History and landmarksSeveral earth forts in the area indicate that the area was inhabited in ancient times, the most prominent of which is on the northern side of the hill above the village along the road to Ennistymon. The fort is believed to have been built by the Danish Vikings and lies on a hill which later became known as "Doctor's Hill" after a doctor was murdered there.