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| View from the second story of the museum. |
“Fascinating Fact of the Day About Ireland”
“Ireland
has mounds of dirt known as “fairy forts” Legend has it that those who disturb one of these mounds will be riddled with bad luck. These mounds are ancient dwellings from the Iron Age.”
A few days ago, we decided to take advantage of our shopping trip to Clifden and visit the Station House Museum, which was listed as an essential place to tour while in Connemara.
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| We arrived at the Station House Museum a little too early and left wandering about town until it opened 30 minutes later. The entrance fee is Euro 3, US $3.42 per person. |
Keep in mind that Connemara, although with a small population of around 32,000, is a vast area covering many miles. We can quickly drive for almost two hours and still be within the region.
Located in County Galway, it’s a point of interest for many tourists visiting Ireland for its scenery, history, people, and cozy country feel with sheep, horses, donkeys, and cattle easily spotted on the narrow, winding roads, often only wide enough for one car to pass. For “city” people, this is a unique experience.
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| Replica of the biplane made the first nonstop transatlantic flight by two British pilots from St. Johns Newfoundland to Clifden. |
For us and our world travel experience, it’s another exciting place to live with several worthwhile sites in the area. Less interested in long, all-day road trips, we strive to find the venues that appeal to us within a reasonable driving distance. Museums are often top on the list.
What an excellent way to learn about a community, its culture, and its people. Such was the case when a few days ago, we visited the Station House Museum located close to downtown Clifden. In this small town, we’ve found shopping to be enjoyable, with its friendly, often Irish-speaking population who’ve learned English over the generations.
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| A saddle from the early 1900s. |
We arrived at 10:00 am as advertised online, but when we arrived promptly, we found a note on the door stating they wouldn’t be open until 10:30. No worries. We busied ourselves walking around while we waited for the opening.
The Station House Museum is small but packed with historical facts and memorabilia that we found refreshing and enlightening. Here’s some information we found online about the museum:
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| Replica of Connemara Pony and cart. |
From this site: “Located in a former train shed, this small, absorbing museum has displays on the local ponies and pivotal aspects of Clifden’s history, including the Galway to Clifden Connemara Railway (in service from 1895 to 1935) and Guglielmo Marconi’s transatlantic wireless station at Derrigimlagh, which was also the site of the crash landing of John Alcock and Arthur Brown’s first nonstop transatlantic aeroplane crossing in 1919.”
Additionally, we discovered the following information from this site:
“An international library of Connemara pony stud books and journals is available for research by enthusiasts. A video of the ponies in their native habitat filmed nearly forty years ago is shown daily. The ground floor is dedicated to Ireland’s native pony breed, the Connemara.
The high roofed interior, with tall shedding windows on either side, is the backdrop for montage panels of photographs and documents. These are well supported by memorabilia and artifacts.
All the latter have an intimate association with breeders and ponies from the Western Seaboard throughout the last two centuries.”
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| An upper gallery takes visitors step by step through the region’s rich history, D’Arcy early in the nineteenth century, to the building and life of the Galway to Clifden railway line (1895 – 1935).
A photographic exhibition of the Marconi Wireless Station at Derrygimla (1905 – 1925) and lifesize figures of Alcock and Brown who landed on this site after their historic flight (1919) complement the interesting range of exhibits.”
Nearby, only a few steps away from the museum, is the popular Clifden Station House Hotel with two restaurants and a pub serving tourists and locals. After reviewing their menu, surely during our time here, we’ll try the restaurant, most likely for lunch rather than dinner. (We’re avoiding driving long distances at night with a high risk of accidents on the narrow winding roads, especially after a few drinks).
As shown in our photos, we found plenty of interesting information and artifacts in the museum and learned more about this appealing area, country, and its people. We’re staying in over the weekend, but we have plenty of new photos to share after another outing yesterday. A special thanks to all of our new readers for stopping by. From whence you come…we have no idea but, we’re happy to see you here. We have no access to your email or personal information, but we can see we’ve had new visitors. May your weekend be filled with awe and wonder! |
Photo from one year ago today, June 22, 2018:
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| This male was “standing watch” so the others could relax and nod off. For more photos, please click here. |