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Be inspired by the beauty of Connemara life  CONNEMARA
officially consists of the broad peninsula of western Co. Galway.
It lies north of the coastal district of Cois Fharraige, south of Killary
Harbour and west of Oughterard.
In religious terms it comprises the parishes of Carna, Clifden (Omey and
Ballindoon), Ballynakill, Roundstone and Inishbofin.
The interior is dominated by the peaks of the Twelve Bens and their entwining
valleys.
No matter how much you know of the geology and geography of the area however,
nothing will prepare you for Connemara.
The spectacular scenery, friendly locals, great pubs and pulsating traditional
music will give you a general feeling of being away from it all far out
on the furthest tip of Europe.
As Ethel Mannin put it in her Connemara Journey in 1947: “Often
when the weather is riotous, black clouds change then colour as they sail
in, turning black and blue, the lightning shining every other minute,
making crescents and crosses.”
A quote from Seamas Maconlomaire’s The Shores Of Connemara. Seamas
born in 1891 gives a splendid account of island life, marine life and
the pulse of life in Connemara.
But then writers have long been drawn here as well as painters, poets,
folklorists and antiquarians.
Inspiration has come to them all as they trudged the sleeping bogs and
rutted boreens in search of beauty, tranquillity and history.
Irish Nationalists, for their part, came to view Connemara as a microcosm
of the Gaelic state they wished to create.
The language was Irish, the natives seemed congenitally resistant to English
authority and the landscape was either filled with contemplative silence
or traditional music.
Today, despite some bungalow blight part of the coastal area is routinely
referred to as Costa del Sod you can still find tranquillity and majestically
grand scenery.
As Maconlomaire wrote: “A spatter of rain in the air, the misty
blues of the distant hills, the golden brown of the mountain, the ice-green
of the water . . and the whole of it held in a light to be found nowhere
else world.”
Connemara National Park
One of six in Ireland the Connemara National Park stretches from the
Atlantic shoreline to the craggy peaks of the Twelve Bens strong scenery,
strong weather and strong spirits.
The terrain mantled by blanket bog and criss-crossed with dark peat
hags is home to two of Ireland’s oldest inhabitants: The Irish stoat
and the Irish hare, both here long before man and two of a handful of
species peculiar only to Ireland.
Connemara ponies still roam free in the rugged, open countryside. Semi-wild,
some say they come from Arab stock which swam ashore after the Spanish
Armada foundered here; others believe they arrived with the Celts some
2,500 years ago.
Whatever their exact origins evidence of horses in Ireland stretches back
28,000 years.
Man is truly a recent blow-in, probably no more than 8,000 years in this
neck of the woods.
Within the 5,000 acres of Connemara National Park stand two of the highest
mountains in the Twelve Bens (or Twelve Pins) range Benbaun (2,400ft)
and Diamond Hill (2,100ft).
The entrance to the park is on the Clifden side of Letterfrack. The visitors’
centre includes an exhibition on the boglands of the West of Ireland,
an audio-visual introduction to the park plus details of nature trails.
A summer programme includes nature mornings and guided walks for children.
Westport
Although not officially in Connemara, Westport is the ideal place to start
any Connemara quest.
Situated at the southerly corner of Clew Bay, the town looks out onto
the Atlantic straight across to America. Or almost. You can’t actually
see much of the main ocean because the bay is littered with a vast number
of almost impossibly-beautiful, green-topped islands.
Thackeray described the scene in his Irish Sketchbook: “The islands
in the bay, which was of a gold colour, look like so many dolphins and
whales basking there.”
For the record, there are some 435 islands in total or as a local put
it: One for each day of the year, with, er, a few left over.
Small wonder then that Gráinne Ni Mhaille or Grace O’Malley
made her centre of operations here. Pirate Queen HQ was a castle where
Westport House now stands.
Even without the accompanying legend this is an absorbing mansion which is
now open to the public. One of the most beautiful and historic houses
in Europe, the extensive gardens would keep any horticulturalist happy
for a week; but there are delights for the whole family attractions include
train rides, pitch and putt, rowing boats, log rides and the children’s
animal and bird park.
For a further overview of the area you could also swing by the Clew Bay
Heritage Centre on The Quay.
Oughterard
The thatched cottage pub, traditional stone buildings and ancient churches
huddle round the babbling Owenriff River.
If it’s history you’re after, there’s plenty of it hereabouts.
A once turbulent area this stronghold of the O’Flaherties was finally
reduced to subservience under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
The ruins of the 16th century O’Flahertie Castle stand as a stark
monument at Aughanure, a little to the south-east of the village.
Angling is one of the main activities hereabouts freshwater trout and
salmon luring fishermen from all over the world to try their luck.
Should fishing prove an altogether too energetic way of catching your
dinner you can instead tuck into a salmon caught by someone else.
Any one of Oughterard’s several restaurants will be only too happy
to oblige.
Oughterard or in Irish Uachtar Ard (High Upper Place) makes an ideal
centre for touring the Twelve Bens, the Maamturk and Cloosh Mountains.
This is the starting point of the Western Way a 31-mile route which
passes through some of the most dramatic scenery in Ireland. Correction
the world.
Clifden
Known as the Capital of Connemara Clifden is set at the head of Clifden
Bay at the foot of the Twelve Bens.
The town is a fine place for a stroll. Head for the derelict Clifden Castle
built in 1815 by the d’Arcy family. Wander through the grounds and
you’ll reach the rugged and rocky seashore.
A castle manor built by the d’Arcys still survives and today is
the luxury Abbeyglen Castle Hotel.
Just outside the town a piece of aviation history took place. Alcock and
Brown landed in Derrygimlagh Bog after their no-frills flight across the
Atlantic in 1919.
Below the town the Owenglin River falls steeply over heavy boulders to
form the Owenglin Cascade.
Leenane (Leenaun)
Sitting at the head of Killary Harbour where the Maamturk and Mweelrea
mountains face each other at the head of Ireland’s only fjord Leanne
was the location for the Irish epic The Field the story of Bull McCabe.
The dark, bleak tale of land dispute is the spiritual obverse of the paddywhackeray
of John Ford’s The Quiet Man.
Two pubs sit side by side in Leenane’s main street and both Gaynor’s
and Hamilton’s display stills from The Field alongside autographed
portraits of Richard Harris and John Hurt.
A walk along the southern shore of Killary Fjord leads to a Famine road.
The Great Hunger bit very hard here and the locals were employed to do
public works in return for a small allowance by the British authorities
to relieve hardship.
Famine roads were entirely useless creations they went nowhere; however
Victorian morals decreed that the Irish shouldn’t be paid an allowance
simply out of charity.
It was also felt that the one thing the seditious natives in this part
of Connacht didn’t need was a good communications system.
In these happier times Leenane makes an ideal place from which to tour
the Maamturks or the splendid viewpoint of The Devil’s Mother 2,131ft
up in the Partry Mountains to the east.
Kylemore Abbey
In the shadow of the Twelve Bens on the shores of Kylemore Lough stand
the romantic turrets of the Gothic revival fantasy Kylemore Abbey.
Originally built by Manchester business tycoon and Galway MP Mitchell
Henry (1826-1911) the estate was planted with thousands of trees, orchards
and exotic shrubs.
Kylemore changed mode from pleasure-palace to abbey in the early years
of the 20th century.
Benedictine nuns fleeing Belgium during the First World War settled here
and transformed what had become a derelict hulk into a girls’ boarding
school.
Visitors are today restricted to the grounds, restaurant and craft shop.
Spring and summer visits guarantee an extravaganza of rhododendron, azalea
and magnolia while lakeside walks offer glimpses of otters and that most-peculiar
of Irish birds the dipper.
Despite being able to fly and swim this bird has contrarily chosen to
catch its food by submerging itself beneath the water and walking along
the river or lough bed.
Truly nature is baroque and there are few better places to witness it
than on the shores of a Connemara lakeside.
Cong
Like Westport Cong is not strictly speaking in Connemara being in Mayo.
But spiritually it is Connemara writ large.
The location of The Quiet Man, the surrounding Connemara countryside
is wild and romantic. But Innisfree the fictional town featured in the
film is not entirely set in Cong. A bridge in Oughterard, a cottage in
Maam, a tower outside Gort in Galway and countryside as far away as the
Clare border all stood in for Cong.
However most of the Innisfree of The Quiet Man is to be found in this
almost impossibly picturesque village set on a narrow strip of land which
divides Lough Mask from Lough Corrib.
The loughs themselves are an angler’s paradise those few visitors
coming to the area before The Quiet Man were mostly here for the fishing.
Cong boasts all the Hibernian trappings any Hollywood director could want
a castle which dates back to the 12th century, an authentic Irish bar,
a Celtic cross, a distinct lack of multi-nationals on the High Street
and cottages which might feel more at home in a Hans Christian Anderson
production never mind a John Ford film.
The old abbey was founded by the last High King of Ireland Rory O’Connor.
This was where Rory spent his declining years dying in 1198. To be fair,
if you had to choose a place to drift away from this mortal coil Cong
seems as good a choice as any.
Despite the quantities of Quiet Man tat for sale this is one beautiful,
restful place. |
