Connemara

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Rainbow stretching over still rural lake

Getty Images/Cultura RF

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Overview

The name Connemara (Conamara) translates as 'Inlets of the Sea' and the roads along the peninsula's filigreed shoreline bear this out as they wind around the coves of this breathtaking stretch of Ireland's jagged west coast.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Aughnanure Castle

Connemara

The 'Fighting O'Flahertys' were based at this superbly preserved 16th-century fortress 4km east of Oughterard. The clan controlled the region for hundreds…

Connemara National Park

Connemara

Immediately southeast of Letterfrack, Connemara National Park spans 2000 dramatic hectares of bog, mountains, heath and woodlands.

Kylemore Abbey

Connemara

Photogenically perched on the shores of Pollacapall Lough, 4km east of Letterfrack, Kylemore is a crenellated 19th-century neo-Gothic fantasy. It was…

Patrick Pearse's Cottage

Connemara

Pádraig Pearse (Patrick Pearse; 1879–1916) wrote some of his short stories and plays on the shore of a remote lake in this small thatched cottage, which…

Inchagoill

Connemara

The largest island on Lough Corrib, Inchagoill lies about 5km offshore from the lake's edge, some 8km north of Oughterard. The island is a lonely place…

Brigit's Garden

Connemara

Covering 4.5 hectares of woodland and meadowland, and with traditional architecture including a reed-thatched crannóg roundhouse, tranquil Brigit's Garden…

Glengowla Mines

Connemara

These 19th-century mines 3km west of Oughterard yielded silver, lead and glistening quartz. As well as marvelling at some of the treasures unearthed,…