Will be in Ireland for 2 weeks this May. Need to be in Cork for family thing toward end of trip, so looking for new places to explore before heading south. Have been to Ireland several times but never to Sligo. Would a week there be too much? And yes, I know - it depends what I'm looking for. Deeper responses than that would be appreciated. Thanks as always.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2828 posts
I think that devoting an entire week in Sligo would probably be overkill unless you were the biggest WB Yeats fans on the planet - Sligo was his old stomping ground and many of the most popular attractions relate to his time there.
If you include nearby Connemara and Donegal I'd say that a week isn't nearly enough. We based ourselves in Clifden (Connemara) and Dunfanaghy (Donegal) on our last trip, each for a week, and never ran out of things to do or beautiful scenic drives to keep us occupied. Connaught is one of the 4 ancient provinces of Ireland and with Donegal is Ireland's "Wild West" - featuring lots of terrific scenery and dramatic seascapes.
Consider grabbing a copy of "Back Roads Ireland" from DK Publishing - the same company that publishes the very informative "Eyewitness" series. As the title implies it's full of off-the-beaten-track meanders by car to lesser known attractions. We've found it to be particularly helpful on our own trips to the region. Can usually find used copies on Amazon for just a few dollars.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA, USA
524 posts
This is great info - thanks. We've been to the Connemara a couple of times and it is gorgeous. We loved Clifden (Westport too). There used to be a great little store there called the Connemara Hamper. Don't know if it still exists. In the ROI, we've been as far north/west as Achill Island, and we've been to Northern Ireland as far west as Derry, but we've never been to the upper corner of the Republic (Sligo or Donegal).
One thing we're trying to do this visit is stay in one place for a while, vs getting in the car every day and driving all over the place. But in Ireland, that's hard to do. Maybe we'll stay in a handful of places for a few nights in each.
Thanks again.
Mike
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2828 posts
We enjoyed our week using Dunfanaghy as a base, though if we were to do it again I'd split time with Donegal town.
Glenveigh NP is a nice outing from Dunfanaghy - there's a nice walk along the river from the manor house to the head of the glen that's quite nice, plus the house and gardens are worth an hour or two. There's also a nice little cafe there for lunch, coffee, or the makings of a picnic for the river walk.
Another interesting side trip is to the Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh just across the NI border. Can google it to see if it might be of interest.