A fish and chips stand on Inisheer----->
A week in Kinvara, Co, Galway saw a million treks out to Dunguaire Castle (Tripadvisor.com), about 4,000 monoliths and a wide selection of holy wells. We also took off over to the Cliffs of Moher and Inisheer. All of that was wonderful, and we don't even feel like we exhausted all the possibilities when we finally headed out on the second half of our journey through Ireland.
Our best friend in all our explorations was a copy of Michelin's #712
Driving Map of Ireland. In fact, I'm studying it right now while I
recount our adventures. Buy it here!
Traveling around Ireland, we were struck by how different each county is from another. Each seems to be defined by very concrete geographical characteristics. Where Clare is all rough limestone floor, Mayo is open roads and wide, flat valleys. Connemara is an otherworldly fairy land of tall, intimate mountains and seaside vistas that seem more like a scene from a fantasy film than something grounded in reality.
<-----There's always a dang cow in the road!
According to my very good close personal friend, Wikipedia, the name Connemara...
...derives from Conmhaicne Mara (meaning: descendants of Con Mhac, of the sea), is a district in the west of Ireland comprising of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway or south west Connacht.
As we drove up R386 from Maam Cross to Maum, the sunshine peeked through chinks in the mountain skyline. The rays penetrated a fine mist and just about blinded us with leprechaun laser beams. I know I am waxing a bit more poetic than usual, but, truly, these are the impressions I was left with after a day or two in this countryside. I am not sure if I have ever seen anything more beautiful. Without a car you'll probably be stuck in the towns, but it seems to me that the heart of Connemara is out in the middle of nowhere - at least that's what the leprechauns want me to believe...
CONNEMARA SIGHTS:
The eastern edge of Connemara is bordered by Lough (pron: "lock") Corrib, a huge, dark lake that runs for about 20 miles north and south. Along its banks we discovered treasure after treasure.
From Galway heading north on the east edge of the lough travel about 15 miles and then start looking for signs for Ross Errily (Ross Abbey) off the R334. According to North Atlantic Skyline,
The Franciscan Abbey of Ross Errily sits on the side of the Black river
a few miles outside of Headford...The
Friary
was founded in 1351 by the Norman nobleman Sir Raymond de Burgo and,
according to Harbison, 'is the most extensive and best preserved of all
the Franciscan
friaries in Ireland.
Huge bummer alert: I lost my photos from this day, so opnce again, let
me quote North Atlantic Skyline by poaching a photo----->
We were blown away by the fact that, even though we were in Ireland in high season and even though Ross Errily is right there on our map in plain view, we were the only souls about. (...unless sheep have souls. That's still out for debate) We wandered the extremely well preserved courtyards and colonnades of the Abbey all by ourselves. Although there is definitely a haunted air about the place, in the end Ross Errily ended up being one of my very favorite sights on the whole trip. It's all too easy to imagine oneself to be a rapunzel or sleeping beauty in a spot like that.
After the stop at the Ross Errily, we continued north around the lough onto R346 into Cong. In 1952, the John Wayne film "The Quiet Man" was shot here. Since then, the town has not-so-quietly milked it's connection to the movie. Cong is worth stopping in for the magnificent abbey inside it's borders, but little else, we found. That is, unless you get a huge kick out of seeing sights like: The Quiet Man Cafe! The Quiet Man Pub! The Quiet Man Toilet! Get your official Quiet Man tea towels here! It's a bit overwhelming and super annoying. Best pop in at the abbey and move along.
At the town of Cornamona pm R345, take a jaunt out onto the peninsula towards Innishdorus. It's a lonely spot that reaches into the interior of Lough Corrib. There are no sights to speak of - nothing in the books - but the views are breathtaking, as is the narrow road and cold winds. At low tide, some of the lough becomes a strange moon-landing terrain of muddy craters.
Let's say you are following our itinerary, and have been driving up
from Kinvara for a bit of sightseeing. If you would like a special treat
come beer o'clock, there is a pub situated at the intersection of R 345 and R 386 - Keane's Bar. A few tables look south over the long valley back to Galway. You can take a pint or two there and gaze out over it all. From her, either head back south for a nap, or continue around through Leenane on the N 59.
We weren't blown away by Leenane. In fact, I wrote "Boo" on my map. Keep your eyes on the views. They just keep coming and coming.
Clifden was a worthy stop for a couple of lil tourists like us - even if only because we discovered Mitchell's restaurant. Mitchell's sits not far from the center of town on an uphill lane. Seek it out for first rate adaptations of pub classics like Irish Stew and anything with smoked salmon. The clientèle tended towards the ritzy ladies-who-lunch, but the delicious flavors made me forget I was wearing sneakers and a fleece. Clifden itself is a bustling mid sized village on the ege of the Atlantic - full of brightly colored shops and any amenities you may be longing for. Right outside of town, don't miss the spectacular Clifden Sky Road drive. Drives like this are all over Ireland - sheep cliffs, choppy seas, breathtaking sunsets - do them all if you can.
Mitchell's Restaurant
Market Street, Clifden
Connemara, Co. Galway
Tel:+353 (0)95 21867
Following the coast around to Roundstone, we stopped in shortly at the Roundstone Bodrhun factory. We both of us play music so we thought it would be somewhat interesting. Sadly, it's a bit more of a tourist bus stop than we enjoy. That said, their claim that all the best bodrhuns in Ireland come from that factory may not be exaggerated - at least all the best bodrhuns sold in the airport. BTW: A Bodrhun is the flat,
shallow drum you'll see played in pub sessions (tune in soon for Irish Music). Our favorite part of roundstone was in the car park. Up the hill from the factory, we stopped the Kyron by a low stone wall. Not sure how he firured it out, but Steve realized that if you clapped near the rocks, they would reverberate with a gentle chiming sound. I took this mighty artistic photo to illustrate---------->
After hitting all this scenery and dodging as many tourist buses as we could, we retired back to Oughterard - the gateway to Connemara on Lough Corrib - to get some ZZZs at what I consider to be the best B&B in all Ireland. The Waterfall Lodge sits just outside of town on a gentle stream. It's a turn of the century manor house full of sumptuous antiques and a slightly eccentric family off innkeepers. We paid about 80 Euro for a double room (sleeps up to three) with a TV and a private bath. We loved the room so much, we stopped again on our way back down to the airport in another week's time. Breakfast was as good as the accommodations - smoked salmon and eggs being my very favorite. As always, it's served with plentiful quantities of delicious brown bread. *chomp* MYAM!!!

The Waterfall Lodge: Oughterard,
Co. Galway,
Tel: 353-91-552168
kdolly@eircom.net