An Enchantment

Classical music filters through the elegant dining room as hairstylist Louise Jordan adjusts the soft golden curls of model Clara McSweeney.

The Continuing Story of Kylemore Abbey

If mortar and bricks could talk, what stories would be told by the walls of Kylemore Abbey? For almost 150 years, its halls and stairways have witnessed the lives of many people, all united behind the granite facade to become part of one intriguing history...

Clifden

In May 2012, Clifden marked the bicentenary of its founding with a week-long festival of talks, heritage walks, concerts, and street entertainment as well as a traditional boat regatta. The main focus of the celebrations was to honour the town’s founder, John D’Arcy...

Breaking Eggs

I grew up at the foot of a mountain on the shores of the Atlantic in a place called Cashel in Connemara. Although I was born in Dingle in County Kerry, I am a Connemara girl through and through.

The Mystic Isle

Inishbofin is an island that lies roughly eleven kilometres off the coast of north-west Connemara. A vibrant star in the galaxy of islands that guards Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, it is a place that has borne witness to a history as rich and interesting as anywhere else in the country.

A Story of Adventure

Nestled in the foothills of the Maumturk Mountains and overlooking Killary Fjord sits the family-run Killary Adventure Company. In 2016, it celebrates over thirty-five years bringing the spirit of adventure to those who cross its threshold.

The Emerald Coast Meets the Emerald Isle

Most college students who travel to Ireland come back with tales of castles visited and pints of Guinness drunk. Few return home debating whether the highlight of the trip was having an audience with the Irish prime minister or getting notes from a director with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

AdventureLucy Mashburn24 March 20172016 Issue, Tori Phelps, Ireland, Connemara Life, The Emerald Isle, University of West Florida, UWF Irish Experience Program, University of West Florida Irish Experience Program, David Steele, Nick Rhyne, Aubrie Offerdahl, Emerald Coast, Florida, Study Abroad, Howard Reddy, Office of Community Engagement, Charles Houghton, Carlow Arts Festival, Dr. Brendan Kelly, Carlow Little Theatre, Carlow College, Irish Experience Program, Students, Studying, University, Laundry and Bourbon, Lone Star, George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Sam Osheroff, James McLure, Festival of Writing and Ideas, Vivienne Guinness, Guinness, Dublin, Enda Kenny, Irish Prime Minister, County Donegal, Western Ireland, Dancing at Lughnasa, Brian Friel, Donnacadh O'Briain, Abbey Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, David King, VISUAL, Catherine Ryan, Croagh Patrick, David Ives, All in the Timing, Kevin F. O'Malley, Royal Irish Academy of Music, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Artist, Art, Creative, Music, Theatre, Plays, Writing, Expanding, Experience, Culture

The Ultimate Day Trip

Here’s a piece of friendly advice: don’t miss Westport while you’re in the West! Judged by Irish Times readers a couple of years back as ‘the best place to live’ in Ireland, it must be pretty close to ‘the best place to visit’ as well.

AdventureLucy Mashburn23 March 20172016 Issue, Connemara Life, The Wild Atlantic Way, Westport, Keem Bay, Achill Island, County Mayo, Ireland, Joyce Country, Road Trip, Day Trip, Leenane, Killary Fjord, Doo Lough Valley, Louisburgh, Croagh Patrick, Heritage Town, Tidy Towns, Entente Florale, Best Kept Town, The Mall, Carrowbeg River, Saint Patrick, Trips, Tourist, Tourism Ireland, Travel, Shop Street, Bridge Street, James Street, John's Row, Guided Walks, Traditional, Lesley Emerson, Matt Loughrey, Clew Bay, Dorinish Island, Leisure Park, Altamont Street, Great Western Greenway, Old Railway Line Walk, Cycling, Walking Trails, Westport Quay, Murrisk, The Reek, Climbing, Climbers, Bicycle, Bertra Beach, National Famine Monument, Potato Famine, Clew Bay Heritage Centre, Sheep, Foothills, Local, Irish Products, Mescan Brewery, Bike Buffet, Westport Arts Festival, Rolling Sun Book Festival, Festivals, Biking, Connemara, Connemara Ireland

Neasa Cooke and John French

For Neasa and John, keeping their wedding simple and relaxed was really important, and the help of friends made their special day on the island of Inishbofin intimate and unforgettable.

Laura Larkin and Brian McCaffrey

Laura and Brian are both natives of western Ireland—Laura is from Galway and Brian from Sligo—so their Connemara wedding displayed all the beauty of their roots with all the hope for a grand future together.

Ethel Reidy and Garrett Coughlan

Garrett and Ethel have always had a special place in their hearts for Connemara, so deciding to have their wedding at the picturesque Rosleague Manor was the perfect way to celebrate their love for one another with friends and family.

A Trip to Bountiful Ballymaloe

Darina Allen is probably the most famous person you’ve never heard of. If you live in the United States, that is. The rest of the world is quite familiar with her. Though she’s sometimes called the Julia Child of Ireland, Allen is, in fact, a true original.

Reframing the Future

The village of Letterfrack, nestled beside Connemara National Park and Diamond Hill, treats visitors and residents to some of Connemara’s most stunning scenery and a peaceful atmosphere. This quiet yet vibrant community is home to the National Centre for Excellence in Furniture Design and Technology...

CultureLucy Mashburn20 March 20172016 Issue, Connemara Life, Ireland, Amanda Crowley, GMIT Letterfrack, Gabriel Hielscher, Geraldine O’Brien, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, National Centre for Excellence in Furniture Design and Technology, Furniture, Carpentry, Design, Technology, Furniture Design, Connemara, Connemara National Park, Diamond Hill, Letterfrack, GMIT, Saint Joseph's Industrial School, Irish Christian Brothers, Connemara West, Machine Halls, Bench Rooms, CNC, Laser Technology, Robotics, Computer Aided Design, CAD, College, Connacht Tribune, Wood, Dr Fergal Barry, President Michael D. Higgins, Áras an Uachtaráin, Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, Architectural Association of Ireland, Design and Crafts Council of Ireland, IrelandSkills National Competitions, global Undergraduate Awards, Wood Marketing Federation Ireland, Campus, Irish, Karl Elliffe, Benchmark Furniture, Benchmark, Irish Design, Creative, Carpenter, Construction, Skills, Nádhúra Design, Nádhúra, Woodworking, Interior Design, Hand-crafted, Ainslie Peters, Diverse, Custom, Co-design, Oisin White, Peter Ranalow, Mark Leonard, Michael Cooney, Gerard Conneely, Craftmanship, Tuath, Country Style

Connemara

Ireland’s West is a wonder to behold. From the artistry and magic of her centuries-old stone walls that crisscross the rolling green hills to the rocky, untamed shores of the Atlantic, Connemara is a veritable feast for the senses.

Hats Off to the Races!

Each year, the last Monday of July officially kicks off Galway Race Week. Tradition has it that racegoers dress up for the event, both to support those racing and for fun. It’s the time of year that men pull out their three-piece suits and women search for the perfect hat.

Bespoke Luxury

Connemara Carpets has had more than forty years of experience providing durable luxury carpets of the highest quality to clients worldwide.

To the End of the Line

The original trail route from Clifden to Galway meanders through some of the most spectacular scenery western Ireland has to offer, but the polarising isolation of Connemara’s many lakes, rivers, and mountain ranges spurred the need to build the original railway track in 1891.

Guglielmo Marconi

History allows us to look back and appreciate the enormous strides achieved by pioneers in science and technology. Sadly, stories are often forgotten, replaced by the next great advance or discovery...

CultureLucy Mashburn7 March 20172016 Issue, Connemara Life, Connemara, Guglielmo Marconi, Amanda Crowley, Marconi Company, Marconi, Marconi Project, Connemara Chamber of Commerce, Clifden Chamber of Commerce, Galway County Council Chamber, Fáilte Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, Christopher Shannon, Archaeologist, Archaeology, Jameson Irish Whiskey Family, Irish History, Ireland, Ireland History, Ireland's Western Coast, The Wild Atlantic Way, Radio, Wireless, Radio and Wireless Communication, Communication, Nobel Prize, Physics, Electromagentic Waves, Telegraph, Telegraph Stations, Cornwall, England, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Clifden, Derrygimlagh, Technology, Marconi's Telegraph, Marconi Light Railway, Radio Station, Letterfrack, R. N. Vyvyan, C. S. Franklin, Jack Phillips, Radio Operators, Wireless Stations, Alock and Brown, Pilot Captain John ‘Jack’ Alcock, Daily Mail, Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, Connemara History, Derrygimlagh Signature Discovery Point, Anne Cleary, Denis Connolly, Historioscopes, Panoramascope, Phones, Innovators, Travellers, Inventions, Inventors