Today’s Itinerary: Westport- Connemara tour to include all sights requested- Kylemore -Renvyle- Letterfrack- Clifden – Roundstone Tully Cross
CONNEMARA
Connemara (Irish: Conamara) is a district in the west of Ireland, the boundaries of which are not well defined. Some define it to be the land contained by Killary Harbour, the Maam Valley, Lough Corrib (as far as Moycullen); a line from there to the sea at Barna, and the Atlantic ocean. Others draw the eastern boundary line from Killary Harbour to Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway. The term Connemara is frequently used to describe all of County Galway west of Lough Corrib; some argue that this is incorrect. It is also used to describe the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas) of western County Galway; again some argue that this too is inaccurate as some of these areas are outside of the traditional boundary of Connemara. Some also argue that it is not correct to say that Connemara’s eastern boundary ends around Barna just on the outskirts of Galway City or at Maam Cross.
KYLEMORE ABBEY
Kylemore Abbey (Irish: Mainistir na Coille Móire) is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine Nunswho fled Belgium in World War I. The current Mother Abbess of the Benedictine Community is Mary Margaret Funk.
Kylemore Castle was built as a private home for the family of Mitchell Henry, a wealthy doctor from London whose family was involved in textile manufacturing in Manchester, England. He moved to Ireland when he and his wife Margaret purchased the land around the Abbey. He became a politician, becoming an MP for County Galway from 1871 to 1885. The castle was designed by James Franklin Fuller, aided by Ussher Roberts. Construction first began in 1867, and took one hundred men four years to complete. The castle covered approximately 40,000 square feet (3,700 m2) and had over seventy rooms with a principal wall that was two to three feet thick. The facade measures 142 feet (43 m) in width and is made of granite brought from Dalkey by sea to Letterfrack and from limestone brought from Ballinasloe. There were 33 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4 sitting rooms, a ballroom, billiard room, library, study, school room, smoking room, gun room and various offices and domestic staff residences for the butler, cook, housekeeper and other servants. Other buildings include a Gothic cathedral and family mausoleum containing the bodies of Margaret Henry, Mitchell Henry and a great grand-nephew.The Abbey remained in Henry’s estate after he returned to England. The castle was sold to the Duke and Duchess of Manchester in 1909, who resided there for several years before being forced to sell the house and grounds because of gambling debts. In 1920 the Irish Benedictine Nuns purchased the Abbey castle and lands after they were forced to flee Ypres, Belgium during World War I. The nuns, who had been based in Ypres for several hundred years, had been bombed out of their Abbey during World War I. The nuns continued to offer education to Catholic girls, opening an international boarding school and establishing a day school for local girls. They were forced to close the school in June 2010.
Walled Victorian Gardens, Kylemore Abbey The Estate includes large walled Victorian Gardens. Since the 1970s these have been open for public tours and ‘nature’ walks. The Benedictine community has restored the Abbey’s gardens and Cathedral with donations and local artisans in order to be a self-sustaining estate.
LETTERFRACK Letterfrack or Letterfrac (Irish: Leitir Fraic) is a small village in the Connemara area of County Galway, Ireland. It was founded by Quakers in the mid-19th century. The village is 15 kilometres (9 miles) north-east of Clifden onBarnaderg Bay and lies at the head of Ballinakill harbour. Letterfrack contains the visitors centre for Connemara National Park. Of special note, this is where Shawn taught school while in Tullycross. We will drive by the school and see the monument erected by her students in her honor.
CLIFDEN 
The town was founded at the start of the 19th century by John D’Arcy (1785–1839)[2] who lived in Clifden Castle (built around 1818, now a ruin) west of Clifden. He had inherited the estate in 1804, when it was mostly inhabited by fishermen and farmers. The idea of establishing a town on the coast was first voiced by him in 1812. Bad communications and a lack of private capital prevented fast progress until the 1820s, when the potato crop failed in 1821-22 and D’Arcy petitioned the government in Dublin for assistance. The engineer Alexander Nimmo was sent to the area in 1822. He constructed a quay at Clifden (finished in 1831), and started a road to Galway.[1]:14,46 With these improvements to its infrastructure, the town began to grow.[3]:11
The town was founded at the start of the 19th century by John D’Arcy (1785–1839)[2] who lived in Clifden Castle (built around 1818, now a ruin) west of Clifden. He had inherited the estate in 1804, when it was mostly inhabited by fishermen and farmers. The idea of establishing a town on the coast was first voiced by him in 1812. Bad communications and a lack of private capital prevented fast progress until the 1820s, when the potato crop failed in 1821-22 and D’Arcy petitioned the government in Dublin for assistance. The engineer Alexander Nimmo was sent to the area in 1822. He constructed a quay at Clifden (finished in 1831), and started a road to Galway.[1]:14,46 With these improvements to its infrastructure, the town began to grow.[3]:11
It prospered until, in 1839, John D’Arcy died. By that time, Clifden had grown from virtually nothing to a town of 185 dwellings, most of them three-floored, two churches, two hotels, three schools, a police barracks, courthouse, a gaol, a distillery and 23 pubs.[1]:14 The population had grown to 1,100 and the town already sported the (as yet unpaved) triangle of streets still visible today.[1]:14 Products that were shipped out from Clifden harbour included marble, corn, fish and kelp. However, John’s son and heir, Hyacinth, lacked his father’s abilities and confrontations with his tenants became commonplace.[3]:14–15 In 1843, Daniel O’Connell held a ‘Monster Meeting’ at Clifden, attended by a crowd reportedly numbering 100,000, at which he spoke on repeal of the Act of Union.[1]:14
The town’s surging growth and propsperity came to an end when the famine started in 1845. Large numbers of people died, as government help proved insufficient to deal with starvation, scurvy and other diseases. By 1848 90% of the population were on relief (receiving government money). Landlords went bankrupt as rents dried up. Many people emigrated to America. On 18 November 1850, Hyacinth D’Arcy put up his estates for sale and most of them were purchased by Charles and Thomas Eyre of Somerset. Hyacinth pursued a church career and became Rector of Omey and Clifden. Charles Eyre sold his share to his brother, who gave the estates to his nephew (Charles’ son) John Joseph in 1864. In 1855, Sisters of Mercy from Galway came to Clifden and established St. Joseph’s Convent, followed by an orphanage and St. Joseph’s Industrial School in 1858. Clifden is the birthplace of Jon Riley, Saint Patrick’s Battalion‘s commander, who fought for Mexico in the Mexican-American War in the 19th century, and John Bamlet Smallman, Irish-Canadian businessman (1849–1916).
TULLYCROSS
Tullycross is the village where Shawn and her classmates lived during their four month stay in Ireland. But more importantly, this is the village where Shawn and her friends created memories that continue to bring warm feelings and tears to their eyes to this very day. So this will be a very sentimental visit for Shawn.
This is the Catholic church in Tullycross. Mom, Shawn, Mindy, and I went to Easter morning mass here.
Shawn’s cottages looking towards the church. Shawn’s cottage was the second or third one from the nearest one in the picture.
Paddy Coyne’s pub across the street from Shawn’s cottage. She and her classmates spent most of their time here. Shawn and Mindy took us here for our first night in Ireland, Good Friday, and what a grand time we had. I remember it as though it were yesterday.
Interior of Paddy Coyne’s pub. I had my first Guiness ever at this bar.
St. Patrick’s Day parade in Tullycross. I think the Blue Shamrock parade is slightly larger but we don’t have any drummers or accordion players in our parade.
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