Connemara's Twelve Pins

Connemara, which derives from Conmhaicne Mara (meaning: descendants of Con Mhac, of the sea), is a district in the west of Ireland comprising of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway or south west Connacht. The Conmhaicne Mara were a branch of the Conmhaicne, an early tribal grouping that had a number of branches located in different parts of Connacht. As this branch of Conmhaicne were located by the sea they became known as the Conmhaicne Mara, i.e., of the sea.



























Connemara was traditionally divided into North Connemara and South Connemara. The mountains of the Twelve Bens and the Owenglin river, which flows into the sea at An Clochán/Clifden, marked the boundary between the two parts.





Weather was intense. We experienced gale winds, rain and hail. Then in the next instant the sun would shine and light up the mountains. The ever-changing elements gave The Connemara an even more dramatic beauty.




The native Irish hawthorne.