Rum Runners
Smugglers Cove
Many wild stories have been told of adventures during the prohibition era when large sums of money were made and lost. The smugglers, affectionately called the "rumrunners", were a very popular group of people.
Though many revenuers tried their best to outsmart the smugglers they had one main problem : the long coastline of the area allowed for boats to land in various places.
Locals also proved to be useful to the rumrunners when they did their part to ensure the success of the contraband shipments. Locals would drop hints to the revenuers that the smugglers would be landing in a certain area and while the revenuers sat, ready to strike, the rumrunners were at another port unloading the shipment.
The cave where it is believed that many loads of liquor were stored during the prohibition era is near the provincial picnic park aptly named Smugglers Cove. The cave itself is about fifteen feet high and runs to a distance of approximately 60 feet inland.
This spot is very popular because of its history involving the rumrunners and it is made even more interesting by the initials, names and dates that have been etched into the stone wall by adventurous persons.
A few of the inscriptions date back to the 1880's! Prohibition in Clare was only officially abolished in 1929…could some of these initials be the calling cards of past rumrunners?
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