Gillick's World: Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way Re-published August 2015 | Page 12

Riding to Omey Island: An Afternoon in Cleggan

Scenery in Cleggan
Village

Cleggan lies on the Atlantic coast in Connemara, a district
in the central west of Ireland. I drove through the area,
stopping briefly in Barna Village and then visiting the
reconstructed site of Cnoc Suain in Spiddal, before
spending the night at Ballynahinch Castle in Recess. The
next day I drove the short distance to Cleggan.

is a main street consisting of restaurants and a few
shops, the entrance to the pier where boats depart for
Galway, and a church, in front of which likes a marker to
commemorate the Cleggan Bay Disaster of 1927 where
25 local fishermen lost their lives when a sudden gale
arose at sea.

As if rehearsed, the people that I met in Connemara used
the same words to describe the area. Charlie and
Dearbhaill in Spiddal, Noel at Ballynahinch Castle and
Noreen in Cleggan used almost the exact same words
within the first few minutes or our meeting and
conversation.
“People come to Connemara for the
scenery, the fresh air and the peace and quiet”. And one
need only pull over to the side of the road for a photo
stop, to marvel at the mountains, the fields or the lakes
and to appreciate the quiet beauty of the area.

I visited Oliver’s Seafood, where Noreen Higgin greeted
me and told me a bit more about the area known for its
fresh air and fresh seafood. I had a bowl of the tasty
chowder…so good and chock full of smoked salmon,
haddock, crab, mussels, white fish and prawns.

Even though I made several such photo stops between
Recess and Cleggan, it still only took forty minutes or so
to arrive. Cleggan literally means ‘head’ or ‘skull’ and
refers to the shape of the land on which it resides. There

Oliver’s Seafood in Cleggan