The next stop in Ireland was Sligo, or "Yeats Country"

The sites we visited in and around Sligo are listed in pink at left. 

Click on them for more information and pictures.

Our first day in the Sligo area consisted of us traveling from Galway to Sligo.  This isn't a long drive, but we took a very scenic route and stopped off at a few places in between.  The area we drove through is called Connemara.  It's a national park area that includes mountains called the Twelve Bens, which provide gorgeous scenery.  The land is very wild and includes bog areas and also a rugged coastline. 

Along the way we stopped off at Kylemore Abbey near Clifden.  This is a Gothic Revival castle that overlooks a lake.  Kylemore Abbey became an abbey for Benedictine nuns during World War I and it is now a prestigious boarding school for girls.  On the 2004 trip, Alicia, Joanna and I had enough time to do a quick tour of Kylemore Abbey and the Gothic Church on the grounds.  It only cost €6 and we chose just to do the Abbey and the church.  See the pictures below...

In 2003 we stopped for lunch in a small town called Leenaun, where the Field Bar is.  We watched the movie "The Field" while we were in Sligo and this bar is featured in the film.  The Aran Islands are also featured in the film. 

In 2004, we took a slightly different route and we stopped by another (there's one in Dublin too) Famine Memorial.  This one was really neat and moving just like the one in Dublin.  It's of a ship- symbolizing the ships that people tried to leave on.  Unfortunately most of them died on the ships that they were sure were getting them out of their plight.  The statue is very very touching- the tattered sails are actually depicted by human skeleton forms.  I think it actually brings out the horror and reality of the famine.