The cross at Doo Lough Pass between Louisburgh and
Leenane is poignant, as it commemorates the fate of a group of starving, desperate people
of all ages, who made a fruitless journey from Louisburgh to Delphi on foot seeking relief.
There are few vistas which take one’s breath away as the Doo Lough Valley does, particularly when approached from Louisburgh, having woven through narrow, winding roads and sheep-populated hills, with traces of long ago dried-up potato beds etched into them. Stone ruins recall the people who dwelled in this remote place.
Killary Harbour (An Caoláire Rua) is the Republic’s only glacial fjord which slices the mountains north and south of it, creating a natural border between counties Galway and Mayo. Stretching 16 kilometres in length, it runs 45 metres deep the unspoilt scenery has a magnetic calmness about it.
For an easy stroll, while observing life in a rock pool, the beach at Old Head provides a lot of
interest and has a satisfying cliff walk and the best woodland habitat around, with excellent
bird-watching opportunities.
The fjord is almost a peninsula in reverse, the sea claiming its right to be habitable as it moves forward into the unknown. From the sea, the land perches on the horizon.
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