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Oughterard and surrounding area Sights
Aughnanure CastleLocated just two miles outside Oughterard, approaching from Galway on the N59, is this 16th century Irish Tower House. Much of the surrounding area was occupied by the O'Flaherty clan, up until this time, but was taken over by The first Earl of Ulster, Walter de Burgo, in 1256. The original castle was probably built by the Earl during this time but was re-conquered by the O'Flaherty Clan by 1300.By 1569, Aughnanure Castle and surrounding lands were declared to be property of the crown and in control of Murrough na Doe O'Flaherty was named chief, undermining the rightful chief, Donal an Chogaidh. This decree split the tribe and the eastern portion of the property, including Aughnanure Castle, were controlled by Murrough and the western portion remained with Donal. For 60 years, the castle remained in possession of the crown and was used as a stronghold against attacks from Galway during Cromwellian times. In 1630, Roderick O'Flaherty petitioned to have the castle returned and the scholar and writer was successful in, once again, retaining possession. It, however, in the difficult years to come, with Roderick being a Catholic, the castle suffered the poverty which he eventually died in. In recent years, the castle was bought by the Office of Public Works and was fully restored. The castle was built beside, and at some positions straddling, a small river, the Drimneen, that has cut intriguing caverns in the stone below it. The building consists of a small (probably) guard look-out, a lower floor for storage and two upper floors - one for used for living quarters (containing a secret room) and the other for sleeping. At the top of the castle, there is an area to take in the fabulous views of the surrounding area. Outside the castle are two courtyards, one original and one that was added at a later period. There is well-known fable that there was once a trap door where unwelcome guests could be dropped into the river flowing below the courtyard. There is a small fee to enter the castle. Inchagoill IslandYou can easily hire a boatman to visit this historic island, in the Lough Corrib. There is evidence of an early monastic settlement which still mostly remains a mystery. There are two churches remaining, St. Patrick's and the 12th century church known as the "saints" church. There are several paths around the island, an old cemetery and remains of four or five cottages which housed the few inhabitants on the island.Ross CastleRoss Castle is located only 5 miles outside Oughterard, approaching from Galway on the N59. The visible mansion was built by the Martin Family in the 17th century but there is some evidence still present of the original castle structure, built in the 15th century by the O'Flaherty Family, in its foundation.Ross Castle was once the residence of Major Poppleton, a former guardian of Napoleon, who married one of the Martin daughters. It was also the home for Violet Florence Martin in the late 1800's who wrote, along with her cousin Edith Somerville under the pen-name Martin Ross, Stories of an Irish R.M. and The Real Charlotte. They were known as Somerville and Ross and there was eventually a television adaptation of their work in the 1980's. Kylemore AbbeyKylemore Abbey was built in 1852 when a Londoner, Mitchell Henry, married a County Down woman, Margaret Vaughan and when she fell in love with the area during a visit, Henry decided to make it the site on which he would build her a spectacular estate. The home was to be modelled after Norwich Cathedral and among many other luxury features, it contained 33 bedrooms and took over 7 years to construct.Unfortunately, the couple only lived there a short time. A further 7 years later Margaret, now a mother of 9 children, fell ill of Nile fever following a trip to Egypt and died. Since then the estate has passed hands a couple of times and is now an exclusive girl's school. The nuns have permitted it to be shown and it is open to the public for tours. There is a craft shop where you may watch pottery being made and many other souvenirs may be purchased. From Oughterard, follow the N59 all the way to Kylemore. For a more scenic route, take the N59 through Maam Cross and when you reach the R344, turn right along th Inagh Valley. At the T-junction take a left back onto the N59 for the rest of your journey. Quiet Man BridgeThe Quiet Man Bridge is located 5 miles passed Oughterard, down the Sky Road, which was the setting for the 1950 film "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The bridge is set in a bit to the left but is visible from the road and is clearly signposted.Hill of DoonDrive through Oughterard Village and turn right in the main square, on Camp Street. Follow this road around and over the bridge where you will see it signposted as turning into the Glann Road. This scenic drive, along the Lough Corrib, is beautiful in its own right but ends, about 9 miles later, at the Hill of Doon. There are gorgeous views from this point but even better are the ones if you climb the paths further on up into the hills.When you return to town, you may want to take an alternative route up the Western Way for further scenery. Western WayWhen you reach around the 6 mile point, returning from the Hill of Doon, or when you drive about 3 miles from town there is an angled left turn where the start is nearly parallel to the Glann Road. It is well signposted as the Western Way. The road twists up through the woods and comes out into a large clearing where you will see an elevated view of Lough Corrib, all its islands and the coastline. This road will end at the bridge on the other end of Main Street by the church.Sky RoadThe Sky Road is famous for its spectacular views of the Connemara Mountains. It takes you through a largely unsettled area where lakes, mountains, bogs (turf fields) and sheep dotting the hills are more prevalent than people. This road with eventually take you to a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) town of Cong.Connemara MountainsThe name Connemara name was originally Conmaicnemara, or "the tribe of Cormac by the sea", given by the ancient Gaelic tribes. It was shortened in the 18th century, to Connemara, which refers to the mountainous region stretching from Killary Harbour to just above Galway City and from the western shore of Lough Corrib to the sea.Characteristics of the area are the large rocky mountain ranges, bogs, Connemara ponies and the perseverance of the Irish language. Many towns still speak Irish (Gaelic) as their first language. More to come!
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