Many people believe that you are not in Connemara until you cross the Owenriff River as you leave Oughterard and the wild romantic brutal reality of Connemara unfolds before you. Oughterard is best known as a centre for freshwater angling on the world famous Lough Corrib. Lough Corrib forms the eastern boundary of Connemara and Oughterard is known as the gateway to Connemara. Aughnanure Castle, a particularly well preserved Irish tower house was built around 1500 on the site of Walter de Burgo`s fort from 1250. 

Lough Corrib forms the spectacular eastern boundary of Connemara running north from Galway to Cong and west to Maum, near Leenane. It is world famous for its salmon and trout fishing as well as its beauty and 365 islands. The most famous of these islands is Inchagoill or "Island of the Srtanger". Inchagoill has an Augustinian Church built in 1180 by the monks from Cong Abbey, as a retreat from the 3000 residents of the Abbey in the village of Cong. The "stranger" in question was St Patrick who built a church on the Island in the 5th centuary.

Leenane or Leenaun is a sleepy village on the coast road from Galway through Clifden north to Westport and Mayo. Leenane is spectacularly located next to Letterfrack at the mouth of Killary Harbour. "The Killary" is the biggest fjord in the UK or Ireland. It is framed on the north by Ben Gorm and Mweelrea, on the east by Devils Mother, and on the south by the Maamturk Mountains and the Twelve Bens. Leenane was a centre of Herring fishing in the 19th centuary and wool in the 20th centuary. It will be a centre of the shellfish industry in the 21st centuary. Ashleigh Falls are a wonderful place to visit just outside the Village.

Cleggan is a small fishing village West of Letterfrack, at the head of Cleggan Bay and framed by the Twelve Bens. It is the port of departure for the enchanting island of Inishboffin. On a hill overlooking the harbour is an early 19th centuary watchtower built during the Napoleonic War. The views from the ruins are spectacular. At the foot of the hill is one of the best preserved megalithic tombs in the area. Cleggan has a long and proud maritime tradition, whose darkest day came in 1927 when a sudden violent storm resulted in the death of twenty five fishermen, known locally as the Cleggan disaster.                                        

Cleggan is the gateway to Inishboffin Island and is serviced by several fast ferries. Inishboffin is one of the most beautiful, enchanting, historic islands off the West Coast. The landscape is fertile and undulating and so is ideal for exploring. The peace and tranquility which brought St Coleman to Inishboffin in 665 is uniquely still evident today. The ruins of a 13th centuary church now mark the site of his monastery. That tranquility was interrupted occasionally notably when Grainne Uaile, Irelands pirate queen of the 16th centuary, made it one of her bases. The developement of a Cromwellian fort in the 17th centuary when the Island was captured by Cromwell`s forces signified its strategic nautical importance through the years. It was used as a prison by Cromwellian forces primarily for Catholic Clergy.

Because of the practice of traditional methods of farming, animals and birds whose habitats are under threat in other parts of the country, still flourish here. Dolphins and porpoises can be seen playing in the unpolluted sheltered waters, while seals can be seen daily sunbathing on the shore.   

Clifden along with Letterfrack, is the other capital of Connemara. Clifden was founded by John D`Arcy in 1812 and grew rapidly in the first half of the 19th centuary. John D`Arcy`s home was Clifden Castle. The remains of the castle are visible from the Sky Road, from where one can also get an alpine like view of Clifden to Letterfrack. Marconi`s wireless station opened outside Clifden in 1907. The masts for the radio were located in Letterfrack. In 1919 Alcock and Brown landed in the bog between Clifden and Roundstone at the end of the first nonstop transatlantic voyage.