Are you ready for this one? This is a travel story I have been really excited to share! And that’s not because I have anything really crazy to share, but because Connemara is the epitome of Galway. You will know why as you scroll to see my pictures. County Galway has two parts to it in my opinion. There is Galway city (my favorite place on earth) and then the natural part of Galway. This includes the Aran Islands and then Connemara. Connemara is absolutely beautiful and in a heartbeat I would move to a little cottage there and have a farm.
I could go on forever about the natural beauty, especially for those looking to go on hikes and explore the fantastical hills. You should also know it is also home to many Gaeltachts. These are areas that have preserved Irish culture so well that they still speak Irish as a first language. Many of the Irish speaking programs at the University of Galway use these Gaeltachts to immerse their students and teach the dialect. This means it is quite significant in Galway, but it is also significant to Ireland as a whole because it has remained so untouched in all the country’s struggles. Now that I have roped you into why this place is so important and why I am passionate about it, I will get into my trip to Connemara and Kylemore Abbey.
I took a day tour to Connemara in October of my semester abroad in Galway four years ago (I can’t believe it was that long ago!) One of my cousins was visiting me for a few days in Galway and I wanted to show her more of Ireland while also seeing something that was new for me. I had been wanting to visit Kylemore Abbey, so I found a tour through the same company my friends and I went with to visit the Cliffs of Moher. I would highly recommend Lally Tours for days trips from Galway.
It started pretty early which a lot of day tours do because you are seeing as much as you can in a day. This meant my friends, cousin, and I needed to stop for coffee on our way into town. The bus departs at Foster Street outside the Hyde Hotel which makes it great for tourists staying in town. For us it was about a 30 minute walk from our student accommodation in Corrib Village. Now before I get into the day, the tour looks much different then it did when I went 4 years ago. I highly recommend checking it out, but while I don’t remember my day trip quite so well anymore, many of the stops look unfamiliar. It is still a tour around Connemara and to Kylemore Abbey though and thats all that matters. Even though it may not be the exact trip you would go on today with Lally Tours, I hope it at least inspires you to venture outside of theusual western Ireland attractions to experience this different side of the country.
The bus ride out to Connemara was beautiful and dare I even say fun? Ireland’s western coast has some bumpy terrain. We were quite literally thrown out of our bus seats at times. I always loved these tour bus rides in Ireland though. Its when you see the most of the beautiful countryside. Then you get to hear your tour guide and their amazing Irish accents. They will often times put on trad music to set the tone. It is probably just something they do for the tourists, but I love the music so I accept if that makes me just a stereotypical Ireland lover.
After a bit we stopped for a bathroom stop in Maam Cross that just so happened to also be a gift shop with a tower you could go up to see a bit more of the scenery. I didn’t buy anything but I did really enjoy the view. After this stop we headed back on the bus until the next photo opp in Clifden at Sky Road View Point. This was one of the most scenic stops on the tour. It was a different kind of view than what I had seen thus far in Ireland. I had stuck to the typical rocky terrain and cliffs of Galway and Clare, but now I was nearing what I had imagine northwestern Ireland would look like. It was green hills with inlets in the water. All I wanted to do was go down there and jump in (although it was October so that would probably be a bad idea).
We continued the rest of the way to the abbey where we were given 2 hours to tour the abbey and gardens while also taking a moment to get some lunch. There was a cafe on the site and it was actually pretty good! It is definitely more cafeteria style than restaurant but that works well when you are trying to be time efficient. I had the caesar salad which is always a safe choice in Ireland. They do them quite well. I also got potato and leek soup which was served with brown bread. I love brown bread!
We started at the Victorian Gardens first. The thing I really love about Ireland is that because its so green, you are still able to visit castle and abbey gardens in any season and still have something to look at. I would say October might be the cut off if you want flowers but there is always something green. We also got a kick out of the pigs hanging around. I thought they were pretty cute with how fuzzy they were.
From here we went inside Kylemore Abbey. The abbey has served many purposes throughout the years. For the last century it has been run and inhabited by Benedictine nuns. While the abbey would appear to us foreigners to be this representation of medieval Ireland, it actually was only built in 1867. Before its time as an abbey it was inhabited by politician and the MP for Galway, Mitchell Henry and his family. It held significance in its location in western Ireland during a time where being Irish held a stigma and the government was represent by the Anglo-Irish. Western Ireland is the epitome of the Irish identity and culture. Having someone of such a status with an estate in Connemara was a statement to say the least. It also upholds the Irish identity through the work it does today. It keeps Irish heritage alive while also contributing economically to this rural area of Ireland.
In between Mitchell Henry and the nuns who look after it today, the abbey was also inhabited by the Duke and Duchess of Manchester. In the early years of benedictine ownership the abbey became a girls boarding school and one of the most prestigious in the world at that. The school has been closed since 2010. Until some new education endeavor the abbey functions as a tourist attraction and monastery.
On the tour of the abbey we saw some of the rooms as they would have been during its time as a residence. I would do anything to live in a place like this. It was gorgeous. You obviously don’t get to see the entire abbey, but you do get to browse quite a few rooms. There is a lot of information to take in while walking through the rooms, so if you are a history person, I highly recommend going with others who are as well or you’ll lag far behind them.
We made our way outside the abbey walked the grounds a bit. We ventured out towards the side walking along the water. We came across pretty woods and little gems. There is a gothic church on the site as well which makes sense with it being a monastery. It’s really beautiful and I suggest taking a look at it, even if you aren’t religious.
After our 2 hours were up, we hopped back on the bus to head back in the direction of Galway city with some more stops along the way. The first was my favorite stop of the entire trip, Lough Inagh View Point. I got the best pictures here of my entire time in Ireland. The sun and clouds blended together just right over the hills and the lake. Then there were the sheep that must’ve been paid actors, because it was perfect.
We then made another stop about half an hour later but for this one we did not get out of the bus. We just pulled over to get glance at the bridge from the quiet man. This is just one of the many movies and shows that were filmed in Connemara. Many of the tours through Connemara will point out locations of these films if that is something that piques your interest.
There is so much to see and explore in Connemara. For me, it definitely was such a dive in o Irish culture. If you are looking to experience and know what it really means to be Irish, this is the place to go. While it may not being as overwhelming as the Cliffs of Moher or the Aran Islands, its warm welcoming Irish tales and nature make it a well worth stop in Ireland. My time abroad in Ireland would not be the same without it.
If you want to visit Connemara but would rather go the nature route there are tours to the area that focus on the national park instead of the abbey. For more of my travels are Ireland check out my Ireland page too!
The Journal of Wanderlust 