Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [457]
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Drinking
Flynn’s Corner House ( 071-962 1139; cnr Main & Bridge Sts) This authentic old-world pub serves a good pint of Guinness and has live music on Friday nights. Savour it before it’s modernised.
Cryan’s ( 071-967 2066; Bridge St) A traditional little pub with few frills, this is another good bet for traditional music sessions on Saturday and Sunday nights.
Moon River ( 071-962 1777; www.moon-river.net; The Quay; admission €15; mid-Mar–Sep) Local bands make Saturday nights aboard this 110-seat cruiser a great alternative to hitting the pubs. Boarding is at 9.30pm; the boat then sets sail along the Shannon from 10pm to midnight.
Entertainment
Carrick’s cinema (Carrick Cineplex; 071-967 200; www.carrickcineplex.ie; Boyle Rd) screens new releases. In your travels around the area, you may also spot the mobile cinema (www.leitrimcinema.ie): a capsule that contains a full set of seats as well as a giant screen. The tourist office can tell you where you can catch it and what’s playing.
The Dock Arts Centre ( 071-965 0828; www.thedock.ie; St George’s Tce; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat) is set in the 19th-century former courthouse and hosts performances, exhibitions, workshops and artists’ studios. Also here is the Leitrim Design House (www.leitrimdesignhouse.ie), which features the work of local artists, designers and craftspeople.
Getting There & Away
Bus Éireann ( 01-836 6111) express service 23 between Dublin (€19, 2¾ hours) and Sligo (€13, one hour) stops here six times in each direction Monday to Saturday (five Sunday). The service stops at several large towns en route, including Boyle, Longford and Mullingar. The bus stop is outside Coffey’s Pastry Case on Bridge St.
The train station ( 071-962 0036) is a 15-minute walk, over on the Roscommon side of the river. Turn right across the bridge, then left at the petrol station onto Station Rd. Carrick has three trains daily to Dublin (€39, 2¼ hours) and Sligo (€17, 55 minutes), with an additional one to Sligo on Friday.
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WEST LEITRIM
North and west of Carrick-on-Shannon, the Leitrim landscape comes into its own, its ruffled hills, steel-grey lakes and isolated cottages exuding a genuine rural charm, unadulterated for the tourist market. You’ll also find a clutch of attractions in this seemingly forgotten part of the country that make it well worth the effort it takes to get there. All are easily accessible on a day trip from Sligo.
If you fancy taking to the hills on foot, the Leitrim Way walking trail begins in Drumshanbo and ends in Manorhamilton, a distance of 48km. For more-detailed information get a copy of Way-Marked Trails of Ireland, by Michael Fewer, from the tourist office.
Creevelea Abbey
A short riverside walk from Dromahair village leads to the ruinous remains of this unfortunate Franciscan friary. A monument to bad timing, the abbey was founded just a few decades before the orders were suppressed in 1539. Yet despite the abbey being gutted by fire on several occasions and desecrated by Richard Bingham and later Cromwell, the hardy monks kept coming back. The cloister has some curious carvings of St Francis, one displaying stigmata and another depicting the saint preaching to birds.
The abbey is off the R288, 3km from Dromahair.
Parke’s Castle
The tranquil surrounds of Parke’s Castle ( 071-916 4149; www.heritageireland.ie; Fivemile Bourne; adult/child €3/1; 10am-6pm mid-Mar–Oct; ), with swans drifting by on Lough Gill and neat grass cloaking the old moat, belie the fact that its early Plantation architecture was created out of an unwelcome English landlord’s insecurity and fear.
The thoroughly restored, three-storey castle forms part of one of the five sides of the bawn, which also has three rounded turrets at its corners. Join one of the entertaining guided tours after viewing the 20-minute video. Last admission is at 5.15pm.
You can take a 1½-hour cruise