This Irish vignette has stayed with me throughout the years, the way poignant moments tend to do. It was only a moment, really, yet even at the time I could have told you of its impact; there was something about sitting in Seamus O’Flaherty’s porch on the coast road in Inverin that made me think I’d truly arrived in…

It was nine o’clock on a Sunday night when Johnny Og came to collect me, and it was raining—not one of those misty, soft rains, as is often the case on the west coast of Ireland, but one of those howling, unforgiving, relentless downpours that comes from no discernable direction, save for the threatening sky overhead.…

The Irish, while extremely fond of their horses, tended to walk everywhere, most of them not having the means nor the land to support a horse. Public transport was inefficient, to say the least. The railways had only just arrived in Ireland but were confined to short…

The distance between Inverin and Clifden is approximately sixty kilometers. It’s a visually inspiring hour-long ride through undulating midlands with grass as soft as velvet, gray stone walls that split the landscape, and bubbling intermittent streams as you glide along a two-lane road that cuts through a…

If one is travelling through Connemara, one of the more compelling tourist destinations is Kylemore Abbey, a Benedictine monastery since 1920, which sits majestically surrounded by wooded acres behind a tranquil lake. The…

Once upon a time, I spent a year living on the western coast of Ireland, in an area of Connemara called Inverin, which is thirteen miles up the coast road from Galway City. Last October, I had good cause to return for nine days, and had invited a childhood friend to accompany me sans…

Claddagh Gifts at Totally Irish Gifts         …

Ireland is known around the world as a place of fun, with pubs, singing and dancing, and of course, that's all true. But the Emerald Isle can also be a place for tranquility and quiet beauty. A visit to Brigit's Garden, just outside Galway City, will show that serenity and introspection are also part of the Irish experience.

Brigit's Garden is a perfect stop for those who…

On the afternoon of Wednesday, 6 August, 2014, our own Ryan O'Rourke had the opportunity to visit the site of the old White O'Morn Cottage in Tiernakill, Maumm, County Galway.  This old site, which now lies in ruins, is better known to the world as "The Quiet Man Cottage."  The…

The Annual Connemara Pony Festival takes place in Clifden, County Galway from Sunday the 27th through Sunday the 24th of August. The highlight of the festival is the Connemara Pony Show on Thursday and Friday. To mark this important annual event, I'd like to offer this brief primer…

The  following is a transcript from the LIVE Community Chat held here at TheWildGeese.com on Friday, June 20, 2014 with with Éilís Crean, the founder of a very creative online Irish community called…

The Wild Geese team are pleased to introduce the newest of The Wild Geese Irish Heritage Partners, Cathal O Malley.  Cathal is  a self-taught artist living in Connemara…

Growing up in Chicago, Illinois, it wasn't St. Patrick's Day unless we saw the movie "The Quiet Man."  There were the parties,  the parade and the dying of the Chicago River green but until the whole family sat together and watched The Quiet Man it really wasn't St. Patrick's Day. …

A true Irish spot, the small Neo-Gothic Church on the grounds of Kylemore Abbey, in Connemara.

You have to look hard for this special gem on the grounds of Kylemore Abbey in County Galway. Kylemore Abbey, home of the Benedictine Nuns since the 1920’s, is nestled at the base of Duchruach Mountain on…

This one's for all you animal lovers out there, and especially for all you equine lovers.  On second thought, this is something that will be enjoyed by anyone who loves Ireland, her unique landscapes, and her grand auld traditions.

Last night (26 December, 2013), a new…

'Oiche na Gaoithe Moire' - The night of the big wind! That phrase usually refers to one of the most devastating hurricanes that ever hit Ireland, which made land during the night of Little Christmas, on the 6th of January 1839, almost 174 years ago, just before the outbreak of the…

Men at Lunch, a documentary film touring the United States, is intriguing for many reasons. The film, which debuted at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, seeks answers to the mystery surrounding an iconic American photograph. Why Connemara-based Sónta Films tackled what seems a…

This summer, driving through Connemara, I pulled into Sraith Salach, (Willow Stream) as Recess is now officially called, on the N59 Galway Clifden Road. All Gaeltacht villages throughout Ireland now only have the Irish name, though it caused such a furore in Dingle/ Daingean that they made an exception. The village consists of a shop, pub and marble shop. My friends were…

I had occasion to visit Dan O’Hara’s hillside farm in Connemara recently as part of my work as a tour guide, work that takes me all over the country. The owner Martin Walsh, a natural born storyteller captivated the group with the story of how the unfortunate farmer ended up in New York and sang the sad song which told of his misfortune.…