IrishShop Blog - IrishShop.com

Recent Posts

Tags

Connemara: Ireland’s Wild West

IrishShop
Diamond Hill, Connemara, Ireland
Diamond Hill, Connemara, Ireland

Just north of Galway Bay sits an incredible stretch of rugged coastline and rolling hilly land dotted with lakes that is home to an exceptional number of artists, writers and musicians. Connemara isn’t a county; it’s a region in County Galway that is part of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. Irish is widely spoken here, and the wild areas look no different than they would have centuries ago. The Atlantic pounds the shore ceaselessly, and the sunsets are dazzling year ‘round. It’s not really a surprise that Connemara inspires so many creative types.

Twelve Pines Island, Connemara
Twelve Pines Island, Connemara

Creativity seems to be one of the area’s main exports. So many iconic Irish gifts come from the west of Ireland. Aran sweaters and Claddagh rings are two of the most famous designs from the region, as well as one unique stone that bears its name.

Connemara Marble Jewelry
Connemara Marble Jewelry Trinity Knot Earrings, Necklace, Ring
Shop Connemara Marble

Connemara marble is a distinctive metamorphic stone with grey and green veins. It is the result limestone being compressed more than 500 million years ago. Over the centuries of it being compressed, other substances join the mix adding the veins and seams that give this Irish marble its unique look. No two items made with it look the same because the colors and the seams are different.

What You'll Find In Connemara

Aside from a huge range of beautiful Irish gifts, you’ll find vast natural beauty here. Cliffs and coastline, as well as languid lakes, abound. Water is a huge theme here, with rain and wind being frequent visitors. Bogs are another prominent feature of Connemara.

The Maumturck Mountains rise up in the center of the region, with the famous peaks of the Twelve Bens sitting a bit to the west of them. Some but not all of the Twelve Bens are in Connemara National Park, a sprawling 2,000 hectare park with a good visitor center and guided nature walks. You’d definitely want good quality, waterproof hiking boots to enjoy this jewel of Connemara.

A hiker walking through Connemara during Fall
Connemara is renowned for its scenic walks and trails

Connemara isn’t entirely wild. It’s also home to the stunning Kylemore Abbey, evidence that people can compete with nature when it comes to creating beauty. This 19th century, neo-gothic masterpiece was built for a wealthy tycoon, but eventually came to be home to an order of Belgian Benedictine nuns. The nuns still own the abbey, and visitors can enjoy the elegant Victorian walled gardens.

Kylemore Abbey, Connemara
Kylemore Abbey, Connemara
Jewelry As Unique As You Are

The 16th century Aughanure Castle is also in Connemara. It was the fortress of the O’Flaherty family, whose motto was ‘Fortune favors the strong’. They ruled Connaught for 300 years, and Grainne O’Malley the pirate queen married into the family in 1546. Today, visitors can see a six-story tower, a banqueting hall, a distinctive double bawn around the perimeter and three species of bat.

Shop the Connemara Marble Collection

With so much natural beauty and rich human history, how could Connemara fail to inspire? For centuries, artisans have drawn on their surroundings and the rugged isolation of life here to create meaningful Irish gifts, often crafted with local materials such as Connemara marble.

Back to blog