| | Touring from Co. Leitrim | | If you would like some more information regarding touring from Ballinacollig or Co. Leitrim, please contact us | | | | Galway | Galway,
the "City of the Tribes," has been dubbed the "fastest growing city in
Europe," and is home to some 50,000 people. It is a vibrant and young
city, and because of this fact, there are countless things to do in
Galway. The nightlife is excellent and tourism from Galway is
unparallelled. Galway is a thriving cultural centre, evident in its
many festivals, in its preservation of the Gaelic language, and its
dedication to music and the arts.
Annual Festivals:
- The Galway Arts Festival, mid-July
- The Galway International Oyster Festival, late September
- The Galway Races, late-July/early-August | | | | Westport | Westport,
designated one of Bord Failte's Heritage Towns, is situated in the
shadow of Croagh Patrick, overlooking Clew Bay. One of the few planned
towns in the Country, Westport was designed in the 18th Century by
James Wyatt. It has become one of Ireland's established tourism
centres, with many outstanding features, most notably the beautiful
tree lined boulevard known as The Mall, running parallel to the
Carrowbeg River.
Croagh Patrick, one of Europe's best know
places of Pilgrimage, has provided a tough ascent for many pilgrims
each year, climbing barefoot in the memory of St. Patrick, who spent
forty days and forty nights fasting on the summit more than 1,500 years
ago. A small church at the summit of the mountain welcomes penitents,
while magnificent views of Clew Bay, with an island for every day of
the week, provides inspiration for many walkers and visitors throughout
the year. | | | | | | Sligo | With
one of the greatest concentration of megalithic monuments in Ireland,
Sligo boasts a landscape as rich in lore as it is in beauty . Sacked by
the Vikings at the beginning of the ninth century, Sligo came to
prominence once again in 1235, when the de Burgo invasion overthrew the
local chieftains. The land was granted to Maurice Fitzgerald, Lord of
Naas - who founded a castle and friary there in the years that
followed. Now destroyed, the castle once stood on what is currently
Castle Street. During the Great Famine, Sligo's population fell
dramatically by a third through either death or emigration. By the end
of the last century though, the town experienced a significant turn
around, becoming a busy centre and hub of activity.The most celebrated
of all of Ireland's poets, W.B Yeats was born in Dublin - his mother,
however, was from Sligo, where he spent a lot of time as a child. Yeats
visited Sligo frequently - periods which led to the inspiration of the
poet in many of his future works, drawing spiritually from the county's
scenic landscape and sense of place.
A litany of places and
monuments pay homage to Yeats in the town of Sligo, and indeed in the
areas surrounding it. At Drumcliffe, by the foot of Benbulben, where
the poet is buried, a memorial stone complex has been built
incorporating an audio-visual presentation about the poet, complimented
with a craft and coffee shop. A sculptural portrayal of Yeats stands on
Stephen Street, in Sligo town, inscribed with lines from the poets
works, many relating to the 1916 Rising. | | | Clonmacnoise
| Clonmacnoise
(the Irish Cluain Mhic Nos) is an ancient ecclesiastical site, situated
south of Athlone, near the centre of Ireland. Its location contributed
to its development as a major centre of religion, learning, trade,
craftsmanship and political influence. Clonmacnoise has a large
collection of grave-slabs dating from the 8th to the 12th century, as
well as one of Ireland's finest surviving High Crosses. In addition,
the monastery contains many religious buildings.
| | | The Boyne Valley
| | The
valley encompasses legendary Tara, where High Kings ruled and heroes
recalled their epic feats in battle, the Hill of Slane, where Patrick
first lit the beacon of Christianity on the island, the mighty burial
mounds of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth - even older than the Pyramids,
and Trim Castle, the largest Norman fortification to be established in
the country. The Boyne Valley is unique in Ireland for the survival of
ruins and relics from successive generations of civilisations through
thousands of years. It was here that the glories of Celtic Ireland
flourished, where Christianity first conquered and where the Catholic
cause was finally lost with the defeat of King James II at the Battle
of the Boyne in 1690. It rivers could speak, the Boyne could tell the
complete story of Ireland's proud past! | | | | Ulster American Folk Park | The
Ulster American Folk Park is a museum of emigration and folklife
telling the story of the floods of emigrants who left these shores.
Exhibits include “Emigrants” indoor museum. Outdoor site has 26
buildings mostly original Irish thatched and American log structures.
Sail
away to the new world on board the Brig Union life-sized emigrant
sailing ship. Two complete streets on old and new world sites. Daily
demonstrations include blacksmithing, spinning, printing and cookery.
Costumed guides in exhibit buildings. A great day out!
Address: 2 Mellon Road, Omagh, Co. Tyrone
Tel: 028-8224 3292 | | | | The Giant's Causeway | The
Giant’s Causeway is Northern Ireland’s most famous landmark and a World
Heritage Site. It takes its name from the legends of Finn MacCool and
is draws people from far and wide to this corner of north Antrim.
The
north Antrim coastline in renowned for it scenic beauty and the Giant’s
Causeway is its unique jewel in the crown, known to the Irish as the
8th Wonder of the World. A jagged promontory of neatly packed columns
of hexagonal rocks created some 6 million years ago by a flow of
basaltic lava. As the lava cooled it form these distinctive hexagonal
shapes just as the bottom of a dried riverbed would crack into shapes.
It
is easy to see how these almost perfectly symmetrical formations would
be viewed as otherworldly by our earlier ancestors and how the Giant’s
Causeway would give rise to colourful legend. The story goes that
mythical Irish giant Finn MacCool built the causeway to get to Scotland
and battle with a rival giant called Benandonner. When he got there he
found that the Scottish giant was asleep but also far bigger than
himself, so Finn returned back across the causeway. When Benandonner
woke up he came across the causeway intent on fighting Finn. Finn’s
wife dressed up her husband as a baby and when Benandonner arrived she
said Finn wasn’t home and to be quiet not to wake up the baby. When
Benandonner saw the ‘baby’ he decided that if the baby was that big,
Finn must be massive. So he turned tail and fled back across the
causeway ripping it up as he went. All that remains are the ends, here
at the Giant’s Causeway and on the island of Staffa in Scotland where
similar formations are found. | | | | Back to Local Facilities Page | | |
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