Experience Western Ireland on our Wild Atlantic Way road trip. From medieval Limerick City and the stunning Cliffs of Moher to Galway’s colourful streets and Sligo’s ancient monuments, we’ve put it all together in one unforgettable journey.
Table of Contents
What is the Wild Atlantic Way?
The Wild Atlantic Way stretches for more than 2,500 kilometres along Ireland’s Atlantic coastline, from County Cork in the south to County Donegal in the north. Rather than a single road, it’s a network of scenic routes linking seaside towns, beaches, headlands, and major viewpoints.
Our road trip covers the western Wild Atlantic Way, one of the most popular and scenic sections, running north from Limerick City to Sligo.
Wild Atlantic Way Itinerary: Limerick to Sligo
This itinerary starts south of Limerick City, travels through County Clare (including the Cliffs of Moher), to Galway, and north to County Sligo. We break it down by county and the key stops along the way.
County Limerick:
- Stroll through Adare, Ireland’s prettiest village, admiring its thatched cottages and medieval ruins.
- In Limerick City, explore King John’s Castle and the cobbled lanes of the Medieval Quarter.
- Visit the Gallery of Art and the People’s Park in Limerick’s beautiful Georgian Quarter.
County Clare:
- Discover excellent medieval carvings at the Franciscan friary in Ennis.
- Stand atop the dramatic Cliffs of Moher, the jewel of Ireland.
- Enjoy live traditional Irish music sessions in the colourful pubs of Doolin.
- Learn about Burren geology and see Ireland’s finest collection of high crosses in Kilfenora.
- Discover both stark limestone pavement and stunning wildflower meadows in Burren National Park.
County Galway:
- Wander cobbled lanes filled with street performers, colourful shops and live music in the Latin Quarter of Galway City.
- Drive the famous Sky Road loop from Clifden, the colourful capital of Connemara.
- Walk boardwalks through ancient bogland and mountain scenery at Connemara National Park.
County Mayo:
- Tour the ornate rooms of 18th-century Westport House in charming Westport.
- Discover Ireland’s farming heritage at the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life.
- Walk among the world’s oldest stone-walled field systems at Céide Fields, buried for 6,000 years.
County Sligo:
- Explore medieval abbey ruins and Yeats-inspired landmarks in the town of Sligo.
- Discover 6,000-year-old megalithic monuments scattered across Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery.
- Visit W.B. Yeats’ grave and the early Christian monastic site founded by St Colmcille at Drumcliffe.
Wild Atlantic Way Attractions Map
This map shows the main road trip route along the Wild Atlantic Way from Limerick City to Sligo, and includes the Cliffs of Moher, Galway, and the most worthwhile scenic stops along the way.
County Limerick
Our road trip begins in County Limerick. Most people are arriving in the county from County Kerry in the south so will typically pass through Adare on the way to Limerick City.
Adare
The heritage village is southwest of Limerick City, along the River Maigue. Thatched cottages line the main street, with medieval ruins clustered throughout the village. Adare was home to three abbeys dating from the 13th through the 15th centuries. Two are now active churches and one lies in ruin.
Upon arriving in Adare, Holy Trinity Abbey Church is in the centre of the village on the left. This Roman Catholic parish church was originally the Trinitarian Abbey. Learn more about Adare’s unique past from the arrival of the Normans to its ancient abbeys next door at the Adare Heritage Centre.
Continuing north, St. Nicholas Church of Ireland occupies the site of the medieval Augustinian abbey on the banks of the River Maigue. Parts of the original medieval church, cloisters, and the monks’ refectory are visible today.
The abbey was founded about 1315 and continued until the 1530s, when King Henry VIII began closing monasteries, seizing their lands and wealth for the crown. It sat in ruins until being given to a small Church Of Ireland congregation in 1807 who worshipped nearby at the old St. Nicholas parish church. It opened as St. Nicholas Church when the refurbishment was completed in 1811.
Across the road, on the other side of the river, are the ruins of Desmond Castle, a 13th-century Norman fortress built on an ancient ring-fort site. Its massive, square, stone keep forms its central feature, surrounded by two concentric walled wards and a battlement rampart with semicircular bastions.
While the castle sits at the edge of the golf course, the ruins of the 15th-century Franciscan Abbey dominate the centre of the course. The ruins of a small medieval church and old cemetery sit near the clubhouse. Walk among roofless stone walls surrounded by timeworn headstones bearing Celtic motifs and weathered inscriptions.
Continue north to County Limerick’s main hub and Ireland’s third-largest city.
Limerick City
On the River Shannon, Limerick City is perfect to explore on foot. Its three main areas mix medieval history, riverside culture, and elegant Georgian streets.
Medieval Quarter
Medieval Limerick, located on King’s Island, is home to the city’s most significant historic landmarks. This is the historic core where Limerick began as a Viking settlement. King John’s Castle, a 13th-century Anglo-Norman fortress, is the highlight. Interactive exhibits bring 800 years of history to life. Climb its towers for sweeping views over the River Shannon and Thomond Bridge.
We entered the area from the west and parked just north of the castle. Walking to the castle, we passed the 20th century St. Munchin’s Church where there has been a religious building since the 6th century. On Castle Street, the 17th-century Bishop’s Palace is the oldest domestic building in Limerick.
From the castle, walk south on Nicholas Street to the Church of Ireland’s cathedral. Integrated into the boundary wall of Saint Mary’s Cathedral graveyard, The Exchange Wall is the surviving façade of a 17th-century civic building.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral is Ireland’s oldest building still serving its original purpose. Founded in 1168 on the site of an ancient royal palace, it has Romanesque arches and Gothic windows and a 35-metre-tall, 14th-century tower.
Modern Limerick City Hall is just to the west on the river. We’re following a loop walk called the Three Bridges Walk. It’s a great way to see the city including walking along the riverside paths.
Follow Bridge Street south. Pass the Potato Market, a restored 19th-century open market yard, across Matthew Bridge and into the modern city centre.
City Centre
This area is anchored by two excellent museums. Enjoy river views, cafés, and street performers, especially around Arthur’s Quay and O’Connell Street.
The Hunt Museum is located in the historic Customs House, where Bridge Street becomes Rutland Street. It showcases an eclectic collection ranging from medieval artifacts to works by major European artists.
Continuing south, Rutland quickly becomes Patrick Street. It’s an easy stroll east on Ellen Street to the 19th-century Milk Market. This is one of Ireland’s oldest surviving markets, now thriving as a vibrant hub for food, crafts and culture. Its stalls are focused on regional food and local producers.
Return to Patrick Street. Head west toward Arthur’s Quay and the river.
Two blocks south on Henry Street at Bedford Row, the Limerick Museum focuses on the city’s social history with objects that trace everyday life in Limerick from the 18th century onward.
The Three Bridges Walk continues south along the River Shannon into the Georgian Quarter. We moved our car to the parking lots on Dock Road, just west of the Shannon Bridge Roundabout.
Georgian Quarter
The Georgian Quarter, developed between 1750 and 1840, lies just beyond the city centre. It is defined by long, grid-planned streets of red-brick townhouses and leafy squares.
Walk southeast, from the roundabout, on Mallow Street to the People’s Park, Limerick’s main green space. The Rice Monument is a Greek Doric limestone column in the centre of the park, erected in 1829 to honour Thomas Spring Rice, a popular local MP.
Beside the park, Limerick City Gallery of Art occupies an early 20th-century Carnegie building. See works covering Irish art from the 18th to the 21st century.
Just south of the art gallery, the People’s Museum of Limerick is in a restored five-storey Georgian townhouse built in 1838. The themed rooms retain around 70% of the original structure and furnishings, helping us understand the city’s social history.
Baker Place is less than 250 metres north on Pery Street. The historic square features Tait’s Clock, the almost 20-metre-tall clock tower erected in 1867, inspired by London’s Big Ben. The tower honours Sir Peter Tait, who began the Tait’s Clothing Factory in Limerick during the 1850s and supplied uniforms in the Crimean War and the American Civil War.
St. Saviour’s Dominican Church sits across the street. The Gothic Revival landmark was consecrated in 1816 but has an 800-year Dominican heritage.
Our road trip continues west. The border with County Clare is less than 5 kilometres from the centre of Limerick city.
County Clare
County Clare combines major natural landmarks with small towns and villages known for traditional music. It is home to the dramatic Cliffs of Moher, the Burren’s karst limestone landscapes and heritage stops such as Bunratty Castle.
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is less than 10 kilometres from the county border. The site combines a restored 15th-century tower house with a 26-hectare open-air museum. The site was first settled as a Viking trading camp in the 10th century. There are more than 30 reconstructed, 19th-century buildings, farm animals and working gardens. Costumed guides recreate traditional Irish country life.
Continue west to the historic town of Ennis.
Ennis
Ennis is the perfect place to explore historic laneways, called bow-ways, which connect the town’s heritage sites and atmospheric pubs.
Ennis Friary, on the north side of the town centre, was founded around 1240 by the Franciscans. It grew into a major religious and teaching centre in medieval Munster. Its Gothic bell tower dominates the town skyline. See 15th– and 16th-century stone carvings and cloister fragments that hint at the friars’ daily life.
A short walk through Ennis’s compact commercial centre leads to the Clare Museum in a restored 19th-century Sisters of Mercy convent. Its exhibits trace the county’s story from prehistoric settlement and the O’Brien dynasty to the upheavals of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Walking between the friary and museum is an easy way to experience the town’s lively, pedestrian-friendly main streets along the way.
Continue west, through the village of Liscannor, to the Irish coast and its best-known sea cliffs.
Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher are Ireland’s most iconic sea cliffs, along the Atlantic coast. Composed of sandstone and shale, the roughly 320-million-year-old cliffs rise to about 214 metres at their highest point. The most visited central section is about 8 kilometres long, within a total coastal extent of roughly 14 kilometres. Over 20 species of seabirds nest here, including puffins in season.
At the main visitor complex, built into the hillside, the Cliffs of Moher Experience presents immersive exhibits on the ocean, geology, nature and human history of the area. This is the easiest place to get oriented before walking along the cliffs and includes a gift shop, two cafés and toilet facilities.
Most people focus on the paved paths and viewing platforms near the visitor centre and O’Brien’s Tower along the cliff edge.
Crowning the highest point of the cliffs, O’Brien’s Tower is a three-storey circular observation tower built in 1835. A local, Cornelius O’Brien, constructed it specifically as a viewpoint for tourists visiting the cliffs. On clear days, the panoramic view from the top can stretch to the Aran Islands, Galway Bay and the mountains of Kerry.
Options exist to extend your walk along the cliffs. The paved central section is about 2 kilometres long. The Cliffs of Moher Coastal Walk extends both north toward Doolin and south to Liscannor from here on narrower dirt tracks. Much of it crosses privately owned farmland and remains free to access. Recently there have been closures and upgrades occurring due to safety concerns. The Cliffs of Moher website has updates on the current conditions.
Take a Boat Tour to the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands
If you’d rather skip the driving, consider a full-day tour from Galway that pairs the Cliffs of Moher with a visit to Inis Oírr on the Aran Islands. The highlight is seeing the cliffs from both above and below, the boat cruise offers a perspective you simply can’t get from land. Lunch and a stop in Doolin are included.
The small coastal village of Doolin is about a 9-kilometre drive north.
Doolin
Doolin is best known for traditional music and as a gateway to the Aran Islands. Traditional Irish music sessions take place in the village pubs most nights throughout the year. The area hosts annual music events including the Doolin Folk Festival.
A bustling Atlantic harbour on the Wild Atlantic Way, Doolin pier serves as the main departure point for Aran Islands ferries and Cliffs of Moher cruises. Its deep-water pier allows ferries to operate at all tidal stages.
Less than 5 kilometres north, Doolin Cave offers guided tours that descend to a large underground chamber. The highlight is the Great Stalactite, over 7 metres long and estimated to weigh more than 10 tonnes.
Drive southeast toward Lisdoonvarna. With time, stop by the Burren Smokehouse owned and operated by Swedish-born Birgitta and local publican Peter Curtin. The smokehouse, built in 1989 with Peter’s own kiln design, uses traditional smoking methods and has grown from a three-person operation into an international producer of smoked fish. Stop by the visitor centre and learn about Irish smoked salmon, local food producers, and regional history. At their neighbouring Roadside Tavern, enjoy exceptional food, beer brewed on-site and a warm welcome.
Continue southeast to the tiny village of Kilfenora.
Kilfenora
Considering its small size, Kilfenora has two sites worth visiting.
In the village centre, the Burren Visitor Centre explains the Burren’s limestone landscape and is a great place to get oriented before exploring the area further. Its displays cover geology, flora, and archaeology, including local megalithic sites. If you didn’t have lunch in Lisdoonvarna, the attached café is an excellent option.
Just north of the visitor centre is Kilfenora Cathedral, which dates from the 12th century. It was built on the site of a monastery founded around the 6th century. The medieval cathedral, with its roofed western nave and the roofless chancel, is known for its high crosses and rich stone carving. The Doorty Cross, a 12th-century high cross reassembled from fragments, stands under the glass roof in the Lady Chapel, on the north side of the chancel. The site is occasionally used for church functions.
Drive east for 6 kilometres. Turn north and continue for about 7 kilometres.
Caherconnell Stone Fort is an exceptionally well-preserved ringfort over 1,000 years old which remained in use up until the start of the 17th century. The circular dry stone enclosure measures 42 metres in diametre with walls up to 3 metres thick and 3 metres high. Archaeological excavations reveal evidence of pin-making, metalworking and high-status inhabitants.
About 500 metres further north find is the entrance for the Poulnabrone Dolmen, a Neolithic portal tomb built between about 4200 and 2900 BCE. The structure uses upright slabs to hold a large capstone, forming a chamber open to the sky. Excavations identified remains of about 33 people, along with grave goods such as a polished stone axe and beads.
The Poulnabrone Dolmen sits on an exposed limestone pavement which stretches for kilometres, forming one of Ireland’s most distinctive environments. This is the Burren. To fully appreciate this extraordinary terrain, drive south into Burren National Park,
Drive south for about 7 kilometres then turn east toward Corofin. In approximately 4 kilometres, follow signs for the Burren National Park car park at the Gortlecka Crossroads, the main trailhead.
Burren National Park
Ireland’s smallest national park protects a compact section of the Burren’s stark limestone (karst) wilderness. Its vast limestone pavement forms Europe’s largest karst landscape, and gives the park its almost otherworldly appearance.
The park’s most distinctive ground feature is the gridded limestone pavement, split by deep fissures that shelter plant life. Over 70% of Ireland’s wildflower species grow in the Burren, including 23 orchid species. Arctic-alpine and Mediterranean plants can appear side by side.
Seven way-marked trails lead into the heart of this rocky wilderness of hills, cliffs, seasonal lakes and meadows. The landscape began forming over 325 million years ago and was shaped by ice age glaciers.
From a popular trail area nearby, Mullaghmore View Point links to the 7.5 km Mullaghmore Loop Walk. This loop is considered difficult. It loops around the summit of Mullaghmore mountain, along the shore of Lough Gealáin, and through large expanses of open limestone pavement.
The local road Knockaunroe meets the main road to the southeast. Drive east for 11 kilometres. A small parking lot is northwest just off the main road.
Near the Burren’s edge and just across the border into County Galway, Kilmacduagh Abbey Cathedral and Round Tower is a ruined monastic complex. It includes Ireland’s tallest round tower, standing over 34 metres tall. The monastic site dates to the early 7th century, with cathedral ruins showing Romanesque to Gothic architectural layers. The cathedral is surrounded by an extensive graveyard. There are ruins of five other abbey buildings in the farm fields nearby.
County Galway
Next up the coast is County Galway. From the rugged Connemara landscapes to the lively streets of Galway City, the county combines prehistoric stone forts, medieval heritage, and unspoilt bogland into one of Ireland’s most diverse destinations.
Our exploration of the county begins in Galway city which is under 30 kilometres northwest as the crow flies. There are several car parks near the docklands which are a convenient place to park to enjoy Galway on foot.
Galway City
The city of Galway is a vibrant coastal hub, known for its medieval streets, lively arts scene, and riverside setting. Most of the city’s highlights can be explored on foot by starting at the waterfront and working inward through its historic core.
From the docks, enjoy the colourful houses and pretty views on the Long Walk. This street stretches along the River Corrib to the historic entrance to Galway where the river meets Galway Bay.
Spanish Arch (Gateway to the City)
The Spanish Arch, once part of the city’s medieval defences, now anchors one of the most photogenic areas in Galway. The arch takes its name from the strong Spanish trade ties of the 16th and 17th centuries. Spanish galleons docked here to sell wine and spices. Nearby, the Galway City Museum houses a variety of exhibitions representing Galway’s rich history, archaeology, heritage and traditions.
Wolfe Tone Bridge links the Claddagh area to the Latin Quarter just a short walk from the Spanish Arch. The current stone arch structure opened in 1934 and honours Irish republican leader Theobald Wolfe Tone.
A quick detour across the bridge leads to the Eglinton Canal Sea Lock, a preserved 19th-century lock connecting the Claddagh Basin to Galway Bay. Built from 1848 to 1852, it includes black limestone walls and a scenic waterfall at the former lock gates.
The Latin Quarter
Back across the bridge, walk Quay Street into the Latin Quarter, the historic heart of Galway. Cobblestone streets are lined with colourful shops, cafés, and traditional pubs. Street performers are a constant presence, adding to the area’s energetic atmosphere.
Small independent boutiques and craft shops sit alongside historic buildings, making the area enjoyable to explore at a relaxed pace. While the Quarter is known for its nightlife, it’s just as rewarding during daylight hours.
The main route follows Quay, High and Shop Streets and leads to several of the Latin Quarter’s important landmarks.
A few steps off High Street on Churchyard Street is the Gothic, 14th-century Saint Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. Ireland’s largest medieval parish church is still in regular use. The graveyard around the church has many interesting gravestones from the 18th century which tie in with stories of old Galway.
A bit further on, at the corner of Shop Street and Abbeygate Street, Lynch’s Castle is a 4-storey, medieval tower house. The grey limestone façade features ornate carvings and the coat of arms of the powerful Lynch family.
Continue northwest on Abbeygate Street which leads to Newtownsmith and the river.
River Corrib Walk & Galway Cathedral
Leaving the Latin Quarter, a riverside path follows the fast-flowing River Corrib toward Galway Cathedral. The walk is quieter than the city centre, with views of stone bridges, leafy banks, and the river rushing toward the bay. It offers a welcome contrast to Galway’s busy streets.
The path leads to the Salmon Weir Bridge opposite the cathedral. Built in 1818, it is the oldest surviving bridge over the River Corrib in Galway City. In summer, many watch salmon moving upstream from the bridge.
Galway Cathedral stands prominently along the river on Nun’s Island. It is well worth going inside. This vast riverside cathedral is one of the youngest of Europe’s great stone cathedrals, dedicated in 1965. With a mix of Renaissance, Romanesque, and Gothic influences, it is topped by an octagonal dome about 44 metres high.
The interior is bright and spacious, featuring marble floors, unplastered stone walls, and coffered wooden ceilings. Stunning stained-glass windows flood the nave with coloured light.
From here, it’s easy to loop back toward the city centre and the docklands parking either by the riverside path or Newtownsmith and Abbeygate Streets.
Our road trip heads west to the small town of Clifden, known as the Capital of Connemara, a rugged coastal region in western County Galway. If you have plenty of time, consider driving west on the Wild Atlantic Way, hugging Galway Bay. We followed a more direct route by driving west on the main highway which is further inland.
About an hour west of Galway is an excellent introduction to the area. Connemara Heritage & History Centre is an open-air museum built around a restored cottage from the 1840s and reconstructions of ancient Irish dwellings.
Clifden is just 10 minutes further.
Clifden
The compact town works well as a base for coastal drives and the nearby national park, with pubs, cafés, and small shops.
The famous Sky Road is a 16-kilometre loop of narrow, winding road with sweeping views over Clifden Bay and offshore islands. Several viewpoints offer formal parking areas.
Just west of town, on the Sky Road, the ivy-clad ruins of 19th-century Clifden Castle, was once home to town founder John D’Arcy.
The entrance to the national park, our next road trip stop, is about 15 kilometres northeast of Clifden, just before the village of Letterfrack.
Connemara National Park
Connemara National Park protects a large area of mountains, bogs, heaths, grasslands, and woodland. Established in 1980, it covers 2,957 hectares and includes peaks from the Twelve Bens range, with Benbaun reaching 725 metres.
The Connemara National Park Information Centre is the perfect place to start your visit. Learn about the park’s landscapes and trails. There are four walking trails of various lengths and difficulties, all beginning at the information centre.
We enjoyed our walk on the “blue” Lower Diamond Hill Trail, a 3-kilometre loop with boardwalk sections over bogland. The route gives wide views across the Connemara countryside and out to the Atlantic on clear days.
The main road loops to the northeast and continues to County Mayo with several interesting stops along the way.
Depending on your time and interest level, visit the Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden, on the shores of Lough Pollacappul. The lakeside neo-Gothic estate has been home to a Benedictine abbey community since 1920. Tour the restored Victorian reception rooms, then step into their 19th century church built using green Connemara marble. Six hectares of heritage walled gardens include heritage glasshouses and formal plantings.
Leenaun
Leenaun is a tiny village dramatically set between mountains at the head of Killary Fjord, Ireland’s only true fjord. The glacier-carved inlet stretches about 16 kilometres to the Atlantic, offering sweeping sea-and-mountain views.
At the foot of Killary Harbour, the Connemara Sheep and Wool Centre is a family-run museum celebrating sheep farming and the area’s wool crafting heritage. The 45-minute guided tour demonstrates carding, spinning, and weaving on antique wheels and looms from the early 20th century.
About 3 kilometres northeast of the village our route enters County Mayo.
County Mayo
County Mayo in Ireland’s northwest combines Atlantic coastal scenery with standout heritage sites, including Céide Fields with the world’s oldest known stone-walled field systems.
One of Mayo’s most appealing heritage towns lies along the shores of Clew Bay, about 30 kilometres northeast.
Westport
Westport is a designated Irish Heritage Town, laid out as a planned Georgian settlement in the 18th century. The Carrowbeg River runs through the commercial centre, crossed by historic stone bridges and flanked by twin tree-lined walks backed by colourful shopfronts.
On the western edge of Westport, Westport House is an 18th-century Georgian mansion built on foundations linked to Grace O’Malley’s former castle. See the dungeons and key rooms associated with the Wyatt family. The surrounding parkland combines manicured gardens, woodland, and lakes.
Note: Westport House is closed for extensive renovation with an anticipated reopening sometime in 2028.
Westport Adventure is an outdoor activity park also located on the 160-hectare Westport Estate. It features Ireland’s largest Net Park along with zip-wiring, zorbing, archery, and paintball.
From Westport, drive east for 26 kilometres to Turlough and several interesting stops.
National Museum of Ireland – Country Life
The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life explores rural Irish life during the century from 1850 to 1950. With a collection of over 35,000 objects, exhibits showcase traditional homes, trades, crafts, and community life, including farming, fishing, and turf-cutting methods. It was interesting to see the changes to people’s lives over the century.
The modern museum building stands beside Turlough Park House, a Victorian Gothic mansion built in 1865. The surrounding parkland includes gardens, woodland trails and a lake.
From the lake, the Turlough Round Tower is visible in the distance. The early medieval tower, likely dating from the 10th to 12th century, is about 21 metres tall. It stands beside a ruined church and graveyard and is thought to have served as a bell tower for the early monastery.
Drive north through the Mayo countryside for 30 kilometres to the riverside town of Ballina. Sitting where the River Moy meets Killala Bay, the town is famous as the Salmon Capital of Ireland. The River Moy here ranks among Europe’s most prolific salmon rivers, drawing anglers from across the continent.
Our next destination is Céide Fields, an extraordinary archaeological landscape where a Neolithic farming community shaped the land over 5,000 years ago.
Continue northwest following the coast for 35 kilometres. The landscape becomes more open and windswept as we arrive on the North Mayo cliffs.
Céide Fields
At Céide Fields a vast Neolithic farming landscape was found buried under blanket bog. The site contains the world’s most extensive Stone Age field system, with stone-walled fields, house sites, and megalithic tombs dating back almost 6,000 years.
On our guided tour through the excavated areas, we learned how the archaeologists located the walls by pushing rods down through bog that reach about 4 metres deep.
The visitor centre sits in the hillside with a peat-clad, pyramid-like design and a glass lantern roof. Exhibits feature artifacts and interactive displays to explain Neolithic life.
A cliff-edge viewing platform is 110 metres above the Atlantic, overlooking rust-coloured bog and dramatic rock formations. The blanket bog supports unique ecology, including colourful mosses, heathers, and insect-eating sundews.
Return to Ballina and drive northeast across the border into County Sligo.
County Sligo
County Sligo combines dramatic mountain and coastal landscapes with Ireland’s highest concentration of Neolithic monuments. The dramatic landscape inspired W. B. Yeats throughout his life.
Sligo town, less than 60 kilometres northeast from Ballina, serves as the gateway to exploring these ancient landscapes and literary connections.
Sligo
The town of Sligo sits beneath the majestic tabletop mountain Benbulben, with the Garavogue River flowing through its centre. It is the administrative centre of County Sligo.
In the town centre, Sligo Abbey is the well-preserved ruin of a 13th-century Dominican friary. The site contains a 15th-century cloister and Ireland’s only surviving 15th-century sculptured high altar in any monastic church.
Just south of town is Ireland’s largest megalithic burial site.
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery has more than 30 visible tombs dating back almost 6,000 years. The monuments form an oval layout around Listoghil, a large central cairn. The site includes a small exhibition housed in a restored cottage.
Less than 10 kilometres north of Sligo, there is a compact early Christian site.
Drumcliffe
Framed by Benbulben mountain and Drumcliffe Bay, St. Colmcille (St. Columba) founded a monastery at Drumcliffe in the 6th century. Today the site’s highlights are Drumcliffe Church and W. B Yeats’ Grave.
Yeats’ remains were reinterred in the historic graveyard in 1948. He chose this churchyard as his final resting place, with his grave bearing lines from his poem “Under Ben Bulben.”
St Columba’s Church, built in 1809 in Neo-Gothic style, stands at the back of the site surrounded by the graveyard. Within the graveyard, the Drumcliffe High Cross stands almost 4 metres tall, and likely dates to the 10th or 11th century. The two main faces feature high-relief biblical scenes from both testaments. It is the only known Irish high cross to depict the Virgin Mary and Child.
Across the road, the ruins of the Drumcliffe Round Tower are 9-metre high without its upper section. This is County Sligo’s only round tower. The doorway sits about 1.75 metres above ground, typical of towers that served as refuges or bell towers. Records still exist noting a lightning strike in 1396 that contributed to the removal of the upper storeys of the tower.
Continuing north, near Cliffoney, Creevykeel Court Tomb is Ireland’s largest and finest court tomb. Dating from 4000 to 2500 BCE, the Neolithic monument features a trapezoidal cairn enclosing an oval court measuring 15 metres long by 9 metres wide. Harvard archaeologists excavated the site in 1935, discovering polished axes, flint tools, and animal bones.
Explore All of our Ireland Road Trip Guides
Discover our complete series of detailed Ireland Guides to help you plan your perfect 7 to 14-day adventure around the Emerald Isle.
Main Article: Ireland Self-Drive Tour – Your 7 to 14-Day Itinerary
Part 1: Dublin – Historic Capital and Traditional Pubs
Part 2: Best Dublin Day Trips – The Ancient East and Historic Sites
Part 3: County Cork – Blarney, Cork City & Cobh
Part 4: Killarney and Ring of Kerry – The National Park and Scenic Drive
Part 5: Dingle Peninsula Drive – Rugged Coastline and Irish Culture
Part 6: Wild Atlantic Way – Cliffs of Moher, Limerick to Sligo (You’re reading this guide now!)
Part 7: County Donegal – Remote Landscapes and Northern Beauty
Part 8: Coastal Causeway Route – The Giant’s Causeway and Dramatic Cliffs
Part 9: Belfast – Titanic History and City Life
