The area is a most sociable place to stop over, the visitor can experience ancient Irish heritage, outdoor activities, cultural encounters and gourmet surprises. Ballyhoura is a walker’s paradise offering the beauty and tranquility of quiet country roads, riverbanks, rugged mountains, rich bogs and mythical landscapes. This loop owes its name to Canon Patrick Augustine Sheehan (1852-1913) a cleric and writer invariably referred to as Canon Sheehan of Doneraile, mainly because he wrote almost all of his major works while he was there as Parish Priest. In 1905 he published Glenanaar, a novel based on the 1829 conspiracy trials in which Daniel O’Connell successfully defended peasants accused of agrarian crimes.