County Clare hosts one of the oldest known evidence for human activity in Ireland. The patella of a bear, which had been  butchered,  was found in the Alice and Gwendoline Cave, in  Clarecastle. It has been dated to 10,000BC.

There was a Neolithic civilization in the Clare area. They left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmens. The most noted one is known as Poulnabrone dolmen, in the Burren. The remains of the people inside the tomb have been excavated and dated to 3800 BC.

Ptolemy created a map of Ireland in his Geographia with information dating from 140 AD; it is the oldest written account of Ireland that includes geographical features. He identified a tribe in Clare known as the Gangani.  

During the Early Middle Ages (500-1,000 AD), the area was part of the Kingdom of Connacht ruled by the Uí Fiachrach Aidhne. In the Middle Ages, it was annexed to the Kingdom of Munster to be settled by the Dalcassians. It was renamed…