Hi, late August am flying into Shannon with 2 adult daughters with 9 days to tour, (including the day we arrive at 10 am). Renting a car,Want to go to the Arran Islands, Cliffs Of Mohr, must go to Boyle,in county Roscommon to see my ancestoral castle of the MacDermott, Am thinking of staying in the Boyl area 2 days, is that a waste of time? Where would be a good place to book for the 1st nite? Would like to go to the Aaron Is. early on the day after arrival, come back on the 5pm ferry, and either head out, or should we book a room close? Want to stay in inexpensive B&B's, don't care about fancy AT ALL...just clean. Want to avoid cities, so was thinking of passing Galway, and getting on the ferry at Rossaveal...how many hrs does that take from Shannon..and is the drive really scary? Also would like to hear opionions on the best things to do from after the islands on up to Boyle, and how many hrs I should allow to drive back to Shannon, should Boyle be our last stop.Any suggestions on good B&B on this trip would be greatly appreciated.

Haven't been to Boyle for 5 years but in the 10 years prior it hardly changed. There are few places to stay - some B&B's & 1 hotel overlooking the river. The Abbey is a ruin but does attract visitors. There is a pretty good ice cream cone to be had at the newsagents opposite Boles of Boyle.
Overall the place is pretty drab & dull - you could see everything there in an afternoon. There is Kings House which offers tours & there is a tourist office & cafe attached.
If you were staying a week I could tell you about some nice drives & interesting places to see - Lough Key, Lough Key forest park, Rock o Doon for swimming, up to see the views from by the wind turbines, go down a coal mine in Keadue.
You might consider a quick visit to Boyle & stopover at Carrick on Shannon which is more geared to the tourist trade.

I've been trying to remember a castle in Boyle all day & have had to google it. The castle is on an island in Lough Key. A tour boat goes around the island giving a brief history - one story was about 2 heart broken lovers and something about 2 trees or roses that now grow on one of the islands.

You can hire rowing boats from Lough Key forest park or there might be motorised boats available. The forest park charges admission in the daytime but the attendants often go home in the afternoon leaving the entrance free.

Some people claim to be going to the garden centre just down the road & get in for free.

I remember from Rock O Doon seeing some archeologist on one of the islands through the trees that grow there. The boat cruisers are often moored there.

johngerard wrote: "one story was about 2 heart broken lovers and something about 2 trees or roses that now grow on one of the islands."

That is the background story to one of Ireland's loveliest songs of disappointed love, Una Bhán. It's a personal favourite of mine. http://www.loughkey.com/legend.html

If you want to see the Cliffs of Moher, I would recommend seeing them on the way to Kinvarra, which would be about the limit of my driving on the first day (actually I went to Galway, but you said you wanted to avoid the city. We stayed in the outskirts at Salthill rigth near the beach.) Kinvarra is a pleasant town. Dunguaire castle is there. Quiet little harbor. There is a banquet at the castle, which is smaller and less touristy than the ones at Bunratty and Knappogue. (That said, I know most people who have been to Dunguaire rave about it, but I liked the touritsy atmosphere and humor of the other two.)

The next day drive to Rossavael to catch the ferry to Inishmore. Spend the night on Inishmore and then catch the early ferry back to Rossavael. The island is magic in the evening after the daytrippers have left and you won't be driving after a day of hiking and being on the water. You could visit a pub and hear traditional music or just walk the beach at the end of the island.

When my niece and I were there a few years ago, we just put our nightclothes, a change of underwear and a toothbrush in a small backpack and rented a bike when we got off the ferry. We rode to our B&B and then were off to explore Dun Aengus, etc. Took the first ferry back the next day and were off in good time for our next stop.

While I was in the Roscommon area, I visited the large bog where peat is extracted by the Irish power company. There is a little train which takes you through the bog and a "ranger" explains how the bog was formed, its importance, and the ecosystem. There are stops where you can get out and look at the flora up close.

Clonmacnoise, an ancient monastic site is in the area.

Also Birr Castle. Gorgeous gardens.

I did the above three sites in a day starting at Roscrea and ending in Athenry.I know that not all of these sites are within Co. Roscommon, but are within the area and well worth a stop,

County Roscommon was our salute to Cassidy (O'Cassidae and variant spellings)relatives from there.

irishface, I think you may have conflated different elements of one trip. Some of the places you mention are not quite within the Roscommon area unless you like very long drives. Boyle is even further away from them than Roscommon town is.

But there is plenty to see and do within easy distance of Boyle -- Lough Key has already been mentioned; a lot of good things at Sligo, 20 miles away; Strokestown house and its famine museum 20 miles the other way; and plenty of etcs.

I forgot to note, in mentioning Una Bhán, that she was a McDermott, a point that should interest irishcollen.

I've stayed at the Abbey House in Boyle two times and always liked it. Be clear, it's not a purpose built B&B, but rather an old interesting home with high ceilings and creaking stairs. I will stay there again I'm sure. It sits right next to the Abbey and is pretty easy to get to. It's a very long walk or a short drive into the town center.

Another stop near Boyle is Carrowkeel, the somewhat difficult to find yet vast complex of megalithic passage cairns on the N4 between Boyle and Sligo. Carbon dating puts them at roughly 5000+ yo so they predate the pyramids.
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Carrowkeel%20home.htm

http://www.leafpile.com/TravelLog/Ir...Carrowkeel.htm

This is truly worth the effort though as you may likely be the only people there.

You can either fly or take the ferry to the Aran Islands. If there is an issue with motion sickness, the air flight might be a better choice and isn't much more expensive. Also, the flight only takes 10 minutes and with limited time, might really be a payoff.

I really prefer the notion of spending a night on the island, getting there later in the day and enjoying it after the masses tourists have left. Up to you though.

To irishface's comment on Dunguaire Castle, I'm one of those that prefer it to Bunratty. Just a much more intimate setting. I like the idea of staying south of Galway on the 1st night. There is nothing terribly scary about the drive other than you'll be driving on the left perhaps for the 1st time. The roads are a bit narrow along the coast but not impossible. You won't completely avoid Galway on the way to the ferry, but you will stay on the outskirts most of the time.

You will certainly need a final night near the airport if Boyle is the last stop. Here are some suggestions in the area between Galway and Boyle:

Connemara is a beautiful area and the coastline is quite nice. If weather permits, there is a wonderful boat trib on Lough Corrib that takes you out to Inchagoil Island. Trips leave from Ashford Castle and Oughterard. I've stayed in Oughterard and liked it. There are a number of B&Bs on the lake with lovely views.

Lots of folks visit Clifden and Kylemore Abbey. Clifden is a cute little town on the coast (claims to be the capital of Connemara) and the Sky Drive on the small peninsula just outside of town is very nice with some great views. The "figure 8" tour on Connemara is popular using the N59 as the mainline through. Look at the map and you'll get it.

Westport is a great town with some nice music pubs. Matt Molloy's is the most famous and tends to be very crowded. Next door to that is the Porterhouse and I've heard some great sessions there. For scenery around Westport there is Croagh Patrick which if you have any desire to hike to the top of a mountain, this is one of the more historic hikes. North of Westport is Achill Island which is beautiful and is well worth a trip when wether permits.

This is easily enough to fill 9 days. Let us know if any of this makes sense or if you need more info.

Bill

Thank you all for your input!It will be so much easier to plan a route now. Padraig,thank you for noticing I am of the McDermott clan,I noticed there isn't alot at Boyle, but I loved the idea of visitng the famine museum, just up my alley, seeing Lough Key and the castle.I don't have enough time to do any historical research while there, but certainly don't want to spend my time indoors researching, when I could be exploring! Also, Irishface, I will definately go to the Dunguaire castle, I do so want to see some castles, another fascination of mine,I did look at Bunratty, but feel it is a little too commercialized for me. Do you think we better get a room/B&B ahead of time on Inishmore, or can we wing it? I'd really like to wing it (for sleeping places)on the whole trip, but am a little hesitant. What would you all advise? I can't thank each of you enough, any more input or afterthoughts are welcome!

There are not a lot of B&Bs on Inishmore so you should definitely reserve in advance.

Castles you might run across up in that area:

Bunratty - just a few miles from the airport
Knappogue - north of Bunratty
Doonagore - just outside of Doolin (near the Cliffs). It's pribvately owned so you can't get in
Gleninagh - A few miles west of Ballyvaughan down a little one track road. Don't let the cows attack you. I don't know if there is any possibility to get in. It's on someones farm.
Dunguaire - already mentioned
Athenry - just east of Galway
Aughnanure - ourside of Oughterard
Clifden Castle - a ruin but large

These are very quickly off the top of my head. There are ruins all over the place also.

August is high season and you may end up spending valuable holiday time looking for a place to stay instead of sightseeing. You also may end up with less than desireable digs. Up to you though. Again, reserve Inishmore and certainly the 1st and last nights.

By the way, on my suggestion of Kylemore Abbey, it's a lovely building to photograph, but entrance to the place is not very exciting. You get to tour four of the rooms. The little chapel down the walk is really quite nice though.

Enjoy.

Bill

An interesting castle near Sligo is Parke's Castle - tour takes around about 1 hour.

An interesting book about the Lough Key area is Woodbrook by David Thomson. He was an historian who taught the daughters of the Kirkwood family. Between the love story there are details of the history of the area around Boyle & Lough Key - including the McDermott castle & the tale of the 2 bushes that grow on the island. My copy has been loaned out & been lost but you may get a copy from a library.