Letterfrack is a small vibrant village on a crossroads beside the sea with a large village green surrounded by trees and overlooked by the majestic Diamond Mountain and Connemara National Park .
The village is renowned for its live traditional Irish music. The well known environmentalist and music lover Leo Hallisey organises two weeks a year Bog Week and Sea Week when musicians and music lovers congregate for music as well as hill-walking and a programme of talks and discussions on environmental matters. Candlelit music sessions and poetry readings are held nine Fridays through the year in the local National School (see Events Calendar). As well as other organised and impromptu sessions there is live traditional music every Sunday through out the year in the Bards Den Pub.
The village also has a great choice of places to eat and drink from its three pubs two of which serve a high standard of bar food and dinners to the award winning and atmospheric Pangur Ban restaurant or dine in the old style elegance of The Rosleague Manor Hotel. The village also has a great café and take-away just off the village green and a tea shop at the National Park. Alternatively you could have a picnic at one of the benches on the village green. You will get all the supplies you need at Veldons well stocked village shop. Or if you really want to do it yourself you could get a fishing rod from the local hardware and take a fishing trip from Letterfrack pier. Do not forget to buy your holiday gifts (or treat your self) at 'possibly the most interesting craft shop in the west' which is beside the pier.
There is plenty to do and see in the village as the Connemara National Park is based in the village and is the starting point for some lovely walks including a track all the way to the top of the Diamond Mountain suitable for the most inexperienced hill walker. Also a great furniture exhibition is held every summer at the Furniture College in the village. Or take a boat trip from the pier to fish or dolphin watch.
The village is a great place for families and children as all premises are child friendly and special family days are held on the village green during the summer and nature and art workshops are run for children in the National Park.
The village boasts an array of accommodation options from Hotel, B&B, Hostel, camping and self catering.
Letterfrack History
In 1849, Quakers, James & Mary Ellis, settled in this coastal village Letterfrack, and set up a shop, school, dispensary and a Temperance Hotel. The also had a lime kiln and a basket factory. In a period just following the Great Famine, the Ellis Family gave much badly needed employment on the improvement of 915 acres of land. James Ellis's health deteriorated and he sold the property on to a John Hall, an Irish Church Mission supporter. Hall sold on the property again in 1882 and it was purchased through a firm of solicitors by the then Arch Bishop of Tuam.
Between 1886-1888 the Irish Christian Brothers established a reformatory, St. Joseph's Industrial School for boys. It was granted by Dublin Castle that male children were to be sent under the Act of Parliament of the 31st year of the reign of H.M. Queen Victoria. The building shaped like that of three sides of a square, consisted of school rooms, a refectory, kitchen and band room on the ground floor, dormitories, lavatories and baths on the upper story to accommodate 100 boys. The building was completed and ready for taking in the boys in November 1887. Later in 1895 a recreation hall was added. The Brothers gave training in a number of trades, including farming, carpentry, tailoring, painting, blacksmith, knitting and shoemaking to name but a few with opportunities for occasional band music and theatricals. A church was later built and the first mass being said there on Christmas Day 1925.
That same year, 1925 electricity was introduced to Letterfrack. A hydro-electric plant was run from the rainfall from Diamond Hill behind the school. The water was impounded into a giant reservoir and elevated over the power house where turbines developed a supply into the mains with sufficient power to provide lighting for the village also. The reformatory closed in 1973
The buildings were purchased by a local development company Connemara West in 1978. Connemara West is now the campus for Letterfrack Furniture College ; school of fine woodworking and design, which has over 170 students and has a number of offices, exhibition area, public library and sports & leisure centre. The furniture college has an exhibition of the students work and is open to members of the public from June to August. The lands surrounding were purchased by the Office of Public Works, later to become Connemara National Park
The Avoca store in Connemara is situated on Ireland's most dramatic Atlantic coast on the main Clifden - Westport road at Letterfrack.
You'll find an exciting range of accessories and gifts from fashion to home furnishings. Kidswear to toys, aromatics to jewellery, kitchenware to gourmet foods - this is a showcase of the best of innovative Irish design.
Browse through the veritable trove and find that perfect gift.
As in all our stores, a visit to Avoca Connemara is one of Ireland's most rewarding shopping experiences.
Open 7 Days March - November
The College Café & Pizzeria
Alan Folan
Connemara West Centre
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Tel: +353 (0)95 41926
Connemara Community Radio 87.8fm & 106.1fm Radio Station(Entertainment)
Pat Walsh
Letterfrack
Connemara
Connemara Community Radio is a community-based and run radio station broadcasting for 10 hours per day throughout the north-west Connemara region of Ireland since July 1st 1995 . Broadcast hours of live radio 11.00 AM - 12.00 PM , 4.00 PM - 9.00 PM and 4 hours of the previous evenings programme 12.00 AM - 4.00 PM .
It's the smallest radio station operating in Ireland with an audience of 10,500 people. The management and operation of the station is undertaken on a voluntary basis assisted by a small core staff.
Tune in to 87.8fm & 106.1fm
CEEC (Connemara Environmental, Educational & Cultural Centre
Environmental, Educational & Cultural Centre
Leo Hallissey
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Nestling at the foot of The Diamond, surrounded by the 12 Bens, Connemara National Park and overlooking the green in the centre of Letterfrack, the Bards Den was formerly the village Grocer, Pub & Post Office. Today the Bards Den is not only a village Pub but also a Restaurant & a 12 bedroom Guest House. Owner managed and offering very comfortable accommodation, good food with an emphasis on locally caught seafood and Connemara lamb, and cosy lounges with open fires; The Bards Den lends itself as an ideal base for activity, exploration or leisure breaks in Connemara.
Connemara National Park
Noel Kirby
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
The Connemara National Park, situated in Letterfrack, covers some 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of scenic countryside, rich in wildlife, on the slopes of the Twelve Bens. The Park provides a unique opportunity to view the flora and fauna and boglands of Connemara at first hand.
In the centre you can view an exhibition on the Connemara landscape, a 3-D exhibition on the boglands, flora and fauna. There are self-guided nature trails, booklets, maps multimedia information. In the Summer there are morning guided walks and interesting evening talks covering areas such as Connemara ponies, West of Ireland birds, butterflies and the Great Famine.
Eight spacious self-catering cottages set on eleven acres only two minutes walk to Letterfrack Village. The cottages have five bedrooms with all modern comforts including dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, T.V. etc. Children's toys are available in each cottage. An outdoor play area with swings and slide as well as gardens and natural terrain for holidaymakers to explore. There is a menagerie of animals living around the cottages including a pony, rabbits, hens and sheep.
They have lovely views of Diamond Mountain and Connemara National Park and are in an ideal location to explore Connemara. Boat trips can be taken from the pier in Letterfrack and there are lots of lovely white sandy beaches nearby. Please visit our website for rates.
The Furniture College (Exhibition)
Finian Sheridan
Established in 1987, this programme pioneered the integration of technological and design skills to specifically meet the needs of an emerging furniture industry in Ireland. Over the years it has evolved and adapted in response to the market growth of contemporary designed, high quality pieces of furniture. It is recognised as the leading programme in this specialised field and it has a national and international reputation for the quality of its graduates.
Graduates from this programme are equipped with skills and knowledge in the manufacture of quality furniture in a commercial environment and can apply sensitive, creative and practical design responses to the development of domestic, contract and one-off pieces of furniture. An Exhibition of Students Work runs throughout the Summer Months in the College at Letterfrack.
Laurel Lodge Self Catering
Anna Marie Mortimer
Sea Road
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Three bedroom semi-detached property overlooking Ballinakill Bay and Connemara mountains, adjacent to Connemara National Park.
Five minute walk to Letterfrack village with shops, pubs and restaurants. Beaches, golf, fishing, cycling, boat trips, horse riding and craft shops all year around.
Living room with open fire, open plan Kitchen/ dining room, sleeps 6 (2 Twin room, 1 double en suite), bathroom/ w.c.
Electricity by meter extra (€2 coins). Gas (for cooker) and oil for heating included. TV/video, washing machine and tumble dryer, dishwasher, fridge/freezer, microwave, spring water supply. Duvets with linen and towels provided.
Letterfrack Hardware
Peter Coneys
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Tel: +353 (0)95 41359
We stock paint, gardening tools, fishing tackle, electrical appliances, general household, plumbing and fuel.
Located in the coastal village of Letterfrack, the Letterfrack Lodge offers a high standard of hostel and self-catering accommodation. Built in 2000 the hostel has 11 ensuite bedrooms complete with timber floors, built in wardrobes and tiled bathrooms. There are 3 large equipped kitchens, 3 dining areas, a barbeque balcony and sitting rooms. A laundry and the internet are also available.
Free laminate maps are available at reception and Mike is always there to give you inside information on the locality and the many wonderful places to explore.
Within minutes of the lodge are beaches, mountains, Connemara National Park and Kylemore Abbey.
Martin Joyce Plumbing Contractor
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Tel: 095 41152
Mick Coyne's Local Butcher Shop
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Tel: +353 (0)87 7551399
This butcher shop is situated in the heart of Letterfrack Village.
With prime Irish beef, local lamb, fresh pork and free range chicken available all year round.
A variety of fresh fish, vegetables and cooked meats will cater for your needs to make your stay in Connemara a memorable one!
Mountain Side Bed & Breakfast
Christine Aspell
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
A family run quality accommodation with budget prices. Situated at the foot of Diamond Mountain in the village of Letterfrack. 2 minutes walk to the Connemara National Park.
· All Private Rooms & Family Rooms
· En suite rooms available
· Self catering kitchen / dining room
· Spacious sitting room
· Continental breakfast included in tariff
· Private car park
The Old Monastery Hostel Stephen Gannon
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
The Old monastery Hostel Was built in 1840 by the Ellis's a quaker family who used it as their family home. After that it was used for a hundred years as a monastery by the Christian Brothers. Now the house can sleep 50 people in dormitories and private rooms.
If you decide to stay the owner Stephen Gannon puts on a complimentary breakfast every morning of fresh baked home-made scones, brown soda bread and healthy pinhead oatmeal. Also subject to the amount of bookings Stephen puts on an evening meal, a vegetarian buffet at budget prices.
Pangur Ban Restaurant Mairead Tucker M. & John Walsh
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
An abundance of fresh, local produce and an adventurous use of the world's more exotic flavours combine well to set us apart. Our beautifully restored 300-year-old cottage in the Connemara village of Letterfrack is open for lunch and dinner, Wednesday to Sunday.
Both John and I have combined our expertise to ensure that, once tempted inside, you'll find it difficult not to fall under the spell of the innovative cooking and friendly, informal ambience.
In addition to the restaurant,we are now delighted to invite you to enrol in Pangur Bán's Cookery School, the first of it's kind in Connemara.
Queen of Connemara Boat Cruises
John Mongan
Derryinver,
Letterfrack,
Connemara,
Co. Galway
Tel: +353 (0)95 43473
Fax: +353 (0)95 43911
Discover the local history, culture and heritage of the sea and country life aboard the 'Queen of Connemara' with an enclosed seated lounge and an open upper deck. The tour takes you along the shores of the Connemara National Park with large varieties of sea birds and perhaps a seal or two! Trip 1 hour. Tickets from Ocean & Country Museum @ Derryinver and from Avoca Handweavers @ Letterfrack Pier Sea Angling 2 ½ hour trips suitable for the whole
Rosleague Manor Hotel Mark Foyle
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Rosleague is a Regency manor now run as a first class country house hotel by Mark Foyle and Eddie Foyle. It lies 7 miles north west of Clifden on the coast overlooking a sheltered bay and surrounded by the Connemara Mountains, beside the National Park. It is renowned for its superb cuisine personally supervised by the owners with all the amenities expected by today's discerning guest. Also a member of Ireland's Blue Book.
Western Exposure Sea Safari
John Nee & Stephen Gannon
Letterfrack
Connemara
Co. Galway
Our sea trips can be tailor made to suit any requirements. If you're a birdwatcher, sealwatcher, whalewatcher or dolphin watcher you should come with us. If you're a geologist, archeologist, ornithologist, photographer, oceanographer, you should come with us. If you're a tinker, a tailor, a soldier or a sailor you should come with us. But most of all if you just want to feel the salty wind in your face and the rising Atlantic swell making your heart beat faster as you turn your back to the land and you start to feel the freedom, you should come with us.
