Connemara National Park

A brief history of Connemara

Megalithic Tombs
The main town of Connemara has evidence of ancient human habitation in the form of four-thousand-year-old megalithic tombs. Early inhabitants eked a living by fishing and trading the Connemara Green Marble in rock seams in this area. It continues to be a precious stone and used in slab form for building and small jewellery.

Emigration to the New World
It has always been a harsh environment in which to live. The area suffered unbelievable hardship during the great famine of the late 1840s and depopulated. Many of the tenant farmers either died or abandoned their holdings, preferring to take their chances on the New World's emigrant ships.

Today Connemara is admired for its natural beauty.

Highlights of Connemara

Clifden
Clifden, a charming town and the 'capital' of Connemara. Founded in 1812, it features two interesting churches; a neo-Gothic church with marvellous rose windows and a smaller Protestant church.

Lough Corrib
Southeast of Connemara is Lough Corrib, a vast inland sea set within fantastic mountain scenery. It's excellent for trout fishing, and on the north shore is Cong Abbey, a fascinating 12th-century building that's worth a visit.

Kylemore Abbey
Kylemore Abbey, a castellated neo-Gothic 70 room mansion built in the 1860s by a wealthy  Manchester businessman as a present for his wife. The grounds and parts of the building are open to the public and well worth a visit.

Hiking In Connemara
Connemara is hill-walking country with a wide choice of routes ranging from gentle hikes to challenging mountain courses. Whatever your choice, fantastic scenery is guaranteed. 

Two of the walking trails start from the visitor centre. One threads its way through the magnificent Ellis Wood, the other called the Sruffaunboy path is a climb through rougher terrain passing the paddock of the park's herd of Connemara ponies.

Connemara Ponies
These are iconic sturdy ponies, noted for their ability to withstand the harsh conditions and yet are companionable and biddable.

Because pasture land is scarce, the ponies feed on salt-tolerant grasses and seaweed from the shore. Bred away from Connemara, the ponies lose their distinctive qualities after only two generations. Along the way, you'll come across disused sheep pens, deserted crofters houses, and the well that once supplied water to Kylemore Castle.

Diamond Hill
Diamond Hill affords stunning views and provides glimpses of the islands of Inishbofin, Inishturk, and Inishark. The climb up to Croagh Patrick can seem tough going, but the view from the summit amply repays the effort.  

Touring and accommodation
Our Classic Ireland Tour includes a day that combines a visit to the Connemara National Park with a Kylemore Abbey Gardens. The magnificent scenery ensures that it's a visit you will never forget. However, we can always customise your journey to reflect any specific interests or requirements you may have. 

Ashford Castle Hotel is one of Ireland's finest and most admired places to stay. It is an excellent base for touring Connemara National Park, Kylemore Abbey Gardens and a short drive to Galway city. Touring the Cliffs of Moher and spending the afternoon in Galway is a possible day tour from Ashford Castle or stops en-route to Ashford. Golf lovers will wish to stay at Glenlo Abbey Hotel, only a few miles from Galway, on a 138-acre estate.