North Atlantic Skyline - - Photographs from the west of Ireland (Galway, Mayo, Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and even Leitrim)

Will's Wilde Years

Beside Ross Errily abbey near Headford in Co. Galway. I'm not sure what's more disturbing - seeing a dead sheep, or finding one that's been there so long that it has been picked clean...

Buy pictures of Ross Errilly Friary, near Headford, Co. Galway.

On my Reference page, is listed a book called Wilde's Lough Corrib. Written by Sir William Wilde (Oscar's father) and published one hundred years before I was born, it is everything that you would want in a travel guide - it is informative, opinionated, witty, passionate about the subject matter and best of all, a guide to a rather beautiful part of the country. I've only got around to reading it now, so I've decided to embark on a small project for this year.

The conceit of the guide is that the traveller is travelling around the lake by boat, and the chapters of the book reflect the parishes or districts as you steam clockwise around the lake. The book was first published in 1867, though it reflects many years of travelling, investigation, chatting and listening to yarns. My plan to follow the path taken by Wilde. The guide is primarily an archaeological one, (which just as well, because a list of B&Bs from 1867 wouldn't be much use today) so it will be interesting to see how many of the sites that he visited still remain.

I don't plan to visit the sites in the order listed in the book, in part because I have already visited some of them (Annaghdown is one of the first places listed in the guide - I visited there on a clear January day last year) but mainly because I'm not very organised. Unlike Sir William, most of my visits will be taken by road (I've already found out the hard way that Volkswagens don't float). I haven't figured out how to visit all the islands yet, so if anyone has a boat, give me a shout. I have begun to add links to a site map so that you'll be able to see exactly where the sites are located (not ready yet).

I kicked off this little odyssey about a month ago with a few sites in the Headford area (north of Annaghdown) and, if there was ever a good sign, the sun shone brightly and sometimes even warmly for most of the day. The places visited were Cahergal, Crossursa and Kilcoona.

Posted by Monasette at May 9, 2005 12:37 AM