By Margaret Connor
When all beside a vigil keep,
The West’s asleep, the West’s asleep—
Alas! and well may Erin weep,
When Connaught lies in slumber deep.
There lake and plain smile fair and free,
‘Mid rocks—their guardian chivalry—
Sing oh! let man learn liberty
From crashing wind and lashing sea.
—from The West’s Sleep, by Thomas Osborne Davis
Connacht, land of Conn, from the mythological figure “Conn of the Hundred Battles,” is the western-most province of Ireland. It is also the smallest province, with only five counties: Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo. Its geography prompted the seventeenth-century English statesman, Oliver Cromwell, to offer an ultimatum to the unruly Irish— “To Hell or to Connacht”—believing that the agitators could not survive on such poor land. Connacht was the hardest-hit area in Ireland during the Great Famine of the 1800s, with Counties Mayo and Roscommon the most severely affected. The resulting death and emigration caused a sharp fall in the recorded population of 1.4 million, which continued to decline into the late twentieth century. In recent years, Connacht’s population has steadily grown, reported at 550,000 in the 2016 Census, of which about 50% were concentrated in Galway. There is a large Irish-speaking population in the Gaeltacht regions of Counties Galway and Mayo.
County Galway is the largest of the five counties of Connacht, stretching over 2,374 square miles and marking the halfway point on the Wild Atlantic Way, a 1,600-mile western coastal route. Among the county’s jewels is Galway City. This thriving cosmopolitan capital and vibrant university town offers a wealth of traditional festivals, culture, and music. Galway County has many beautiful areas, such as The Aran Islands and Connemara. Hidden in the heart of Connemara is Kylemore Abbey, with its Victorian walled garden. Built in the 1800s as a private home, it was taken over by Benedictine nuns fleeing WW1 and remains in their stewardess today.
To the north, lies County Mayo, Mhaigh Eo in Gaelic, meaning “plain of the yew trees.” Stretching over 2,157 square miles with a long and rugged coastline, it is the second-largest county in Connacht. Mayo is rich in megalithic tombs such as the Ceide Fields, an extensive Stone Age monument. This county is also known for its early monastic sites, including Moyne Abbey, Cong Abbey, and Rosserk Friary, now in ruins like so many other monastic sites. On the perimeter of one such monastic site stands Ashford Castle. This medieval structure was built in the thirteenth century by the Anglo-Norman house of Burke and is today a five-star hotel.
Bordering Mayo is County Sligo, named after the many shellfish in the local waters. It is also known as Yates County, where lies the gravesite of William Butler Yeats. This area is recognized for its medieval high crosses, stone-age cemetery, and the huge Neolithic monument of Knocknarea, believed to contain the cairn of Maebh, the mythological Queen of Connacht.
The remaining two counties in the province, Roscommon and Leitrim, are equally steeped in history. Roscommon, noted for its archaeological sites, prehistorical ringforts, thirteenth-century castle, and abbey, was the seat to kings of Connacht in the Middle Ages. The county also is acknowledged for its workhouse built to care for the local famine victims in the mid-1800s. Close to this spot stands a memorial to the thousands who perished in the Great Famine.
Connected with an authentic stone bridge is County Leitrim, the smallest county of both the province and of Ireland. This county historically was part of West Breifne, a medieval tenth-century kingdom that emerged from a consortium of tribes. Ruled by the O’Rourke dynasty from the eleventh century, Breifne remained part of Connacht until the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 in the sixteenth century. The O’Rourke Castle, built in the fifteenth century, was inherited by Sir Roger Parke, an English Captain during the “Plantations” (the “Planting” of loyal English settlers to civilize the “Wild” Irish) in the early 1600s. Leitrim, with its many scenic lakes, including Lough Gill, Lough Melvin, and Lough Allen, is also home to the magnificent Glencar Waterfall.
Popular among tourists and nature lovers for its authenticity, the province of Connacht offers an unspoiled landscape, spectacular mountains and peaks, rivers and lakes, and miles of remote beaches.