Tolkien fans to descend on the Burren

When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in... Co Clare.

From Thursday, anyone traipsing through the Burren may notice a new addition to the landscape of clints and dolmens — members of the Burren Tolkien Society.

Fans of JRR Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, have come together as the Burren Tolkien Society and have organised the inaugural week-long Burren Tolkien Festival.