Alcock and Browne Marconi Sightseeing

20/04/2026

A pair of woollen grey gloves with a silver material strip was lost and found at the Alcock and Brown/Marconi Discovery Point Trail at Carpark on Ballyconneely Road, PM here for details for safe return or WhatsApp: 0879714873

21/02/2026

This coaching support is for men who are experiencing:
• separation
• divorce
• relationship breakdown
• parental alienation
• difficult decisions after long relationships

If you feel stuck, overwhelmed or unsure how to move forward, supportive conversation can help you see things more clearly.

You are not broken. You are navigating a difficult situation.

08/01/2026

24/12/2025

Christmas Lights Clifden Connemara 🎄

08/12/2025

: A Status Red Storm warning has been issued from Loop Head to Erris Head to Malin head

Red South to southwest winds will occasionally reach violent storm force 11.

Valid from Tuesday 09/12 12:00 to 23:00

24/11/2025

Possible Crannog at Killary Harbour Leenane near Asleigh Falls

02/11/2025

18/10/2025

The Corlea Trackway • Longford

This 2km ancient routeway was discovered beautifully preserved in the bog. A section of the trackway from Cloonbreany Townland was excavated by a team led by Professor Barry Raftery of UCD, it was found to date to c.148 BC.

You can now see this section conserved on display in the Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre.

If you're interested in digging into its story, we had such a fascinating talk on Corlea by Professor Aidan O'Sullivan.

In 'The Colossus of Roads', offered memories of the Corlea archaeological campaign by one then-young archaeologist, and described the experience of working on such an incredibly preserved monument. And discusses the question of what the Corlea Trackway meant to the people who built it?

Tuatha Members can watch the recording of this brilliant illustrated talk in the Online Courses section of the member dashboard. It's certainly a road worth travelling!

13/10/2025

https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41719608.html

Restaurants Association of Ireland said reduction will play a 'vital role' in safeguarding jobs, while vintners say they have been 'ignored' by the Government

27/09/2025

MGWR Heritage Railway Project in talk with Jim Deegan (Maam Cross) An Teach Deoite

Jim Deegan talks about the exciting work to bring Maam Cross station back to life, more than 80 years after trains last ran on the Galway to Clifden line. As...

21/09/2025

History of the Clifden Railway 🚃 Station in early 1900s 👇

WHAT TIME IS THE TRAIN TO LETTERFRACK? (1888)

By 1888, the discussion about building a railway line from Galway to Clifden had been ongoing for some three decades.

Surveys had been done on more than one occasion but the idea had always been abandoned amidst disagreement over whether it could be profitable and what was the best route to take.

Of the two favoured routes, the quickest would go through Moycullen, Oughterard, Maam Cross and Recess.

The main argument against this was the small population it would serve between Galway and Clifden. The second route, out through Spiddal and Inverin and along the coast of South Connemara, would serve many more people but would be longer and much slower.

In 1888, a new route was proposed.

This would see the train go north from Galway City, arriving into Headford, before turning west into the Co. Mayo village of Cong. It would continue its westward trajectory afterwards until it came to Leenane via Cornamona and Maam.

The next stop would be Letterfrack (or possibly Kylemore) before the train would make its way to Clifden.

Some local families, notably the Blakes of Renvyle, threw their weight behind this proposal and wrote letters to newspapers recommending that this northern route be chosen, citing its potential benefits for the export of fish.

A commission to look into the matter found that it would cost almost double what a more direct route through the centre of Connemara would cost.

There was talk of a branch line, connecting Recess to Killary Harbour off the central Connemara route, and in some of the original plans this was considered.

It never got off the ground however, so the dream of a train directly servicing Letterfrack and the surrounding area was not to be. The Galway-Clifden railway was eventually opened in 1895.

It lasted 40 years but proved unprofitable and closed in 1935, authorities belatedly realising that their choice of route had served too small a population to make it viable.

For more stories of life in Galway and the west of Ireland, see my book 'The Little History of Galway.' In all good bookshops or pick up a signed copy at:
https://www.etsy.com/ie/listing/1867494645/little-history-galway-ireland-colm8.htm

Picture of Clifden Railway Station, courtesy NLI.