9 Best Sights in Connemara and County Mayo, Ireland

The 5,000-acre Connemara National Park lies southeast of the village of Letterfrack. Its visitor center covers the area's history and ecology, particularly the origins and growth of peat—and presents the depressing statistic that more than 80% of Ireland's peat, 5,000 years in the making, has been destroyed in the last 90 years. You can also get details on the many excellent walks and beaches in the area. The misleadingly named "park" is, in fact, just rocky or wooded wilderness territory, albeit with some helpful trails marked out to aid your exploration. It includes part of the famous Twelve Bens mountain range, which is best suited for experienced hill walkers. An easier hike is the Lower Diamond Hill Walk, at about 3 km (less than 2 miles). Ask for advice on a hike suited to your abilities and interests at the Park and Visitor Centre, which is on the N59 as you arrive in Letterfrack from Clifden, on your right, clearly signposted, not too far southeast of the center of Letterfrack.

Located in the southern territory of the Mullet Peninsula and covering 110 square km (42½ square miles) of Atlantic bogland and mountainous wilderness, Ballycroy is one of only six national parks in Ireland and utopia for the outdoor adventurer. Marked looped trails offer staggering views across Blacksod Bay and the Achill Islands. Once the sun sets, the area becomes a "dark-sky park," where visitors arrive with flashlights to witness the uninterrupted view of the heavens. The park is equipped with a visitor center and café. To camp, contact the park manager.

Dog's Bay Beach lies back-to-back with Gurteen Beach, forming a tombolo that juts out into the ocean. Unlike other local limestone beaches, Dog's Bay's brilliant white sand was formed from seashells, and its horseshoe shape stretches for a mile along the Connemara coast. Its clear, blue water is sheltered from currents, making it popular with swimmers and kitesurfers. Amenities: none. Best for: swimming; water sports; walking.

You have two options for traveling onward from Leenane to Westport. The first is to take the direct route on the N59. The second is to detour through the Doolough Valley between Mweelrea Mountain (to the west) and the Sheeffry Hills (to the east) and on to Westport via Louisburgh (on the southern shore of Clew Bay), passing through the hauntingly beautiful Doolough Valley. A stark stone cross commemorates a particularly shameful chapter in Ireland's potato famine when people perished by the roadside when forced by poor relief officials to walk for an inspection in brutal weather conditions. The latter route adds about 24 km (15 miles) to the trip, but devotees of this part of the West claim that it takes you through the region's most impressive, unspoiled stretch of scenery. If you opt for the longer route, turn left onto R335 1½ km (1 mile) beyond Leenane. Just after this turn, you can hear the powerful rush of the Aasleagh Falls. You can park over the bridge, stroll along the river's shore, and soak in the splendor of the surrounding mountains.

Past the windswept townland of Gladree and seemingly at the very edge of the world is this magnificent blowhole, drilled vertically through solid rock by the elements to create an epic, natural fountain when the weather is wild and waves pound the shoreline below. Encased in wire and accessed through a triangular stone sculpture, the site has spectacular views across to Eagle Island Lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean.   

Just when you think you've discovered Connemara's final Atlantic frontier, Inis Ní (or Inishnee) Island lures you miles farther into its ocean-fringed wilderness. This is one of the most northerly outposts of the south Connemara Gaeltacht. The trailhead is by a car park close to Roundstone, and from there it's an easy mile of country road to a small causeway. Discarded fishermen's boats bob along a marshy inlet, at the start of the loop walk. The island's color palette varies with the season's blossoms, as you meander past deserted, forlorn graveyards, granite walls caked in lichen and moss, and a pier where fishermen sort their stock from brightly painted boats.

At this highly acclaimed museum, the only branch of the National Museum of Ireland outside Dublin, you're invited to revisit rural life in Ireland between 1860 and 1960---before electrification and in-house running water. Among the displayed items are authentic furniture and utensils; hunting, fishing, and agricultural implements; clothing; and objects relating to games, pastimes, religion, and education.

The museum experience starts in Turlough Park House, built in the High Victorian Gothic style in 1865 and set in pretty lakeside gardens. Just three rooms have been restored to illustrate the way the landowners lived. A sensational modern four-story, curved building houses the main exhibit. Cleverly placed windows afford panoramic views of the surrounding park and the distant Round Tower, allowing you to reflect on the reality beyond the museum's walls. The shop sells museum-branded and handcrafted gift items and a café with indoor and outdoor tables is located in the stable yard, and you can take scenic lakeside walks in the park.

The town's arts center has a calendar of exhibitions, concerts and performances, a crafts shop, and a handy coffee shop with home baking. It occupies an imposing gray limestone building dating from 1790, when the town had a thriving linen industry.

Head onto Bellmullet's Shore Road to discover the Tidal Pool, a feat of engineering and imagination from the 1980s that facilitates an ocean swim without the incumbent risk to life that the Atlantic's strong currents usually pose. Two large concrete basins fill and ebb with the ocean's water at  high tide---one deep, the other shallow---offering hardy sorts an opportunity to swim or just soak in the waters of Blacksod Bay, depending on the tide, and within the confined space of a 20-meter pool. Of course, the ocean still can be hazardous with waves or sudden storms, so take precautions at all times.