Ballyconneely

Ballyconneely lies at the neck of a peninsula which is lined with beautiful beaches. False beach at Dunloughan in the west is good for surfing. Some of the beaches are popular for shore fishing. Ballyconneely was the seat, from the 14th century, of the "Ferocious" O'Flaherty family. Around 1540, Donall O'Flaherty married Granuaile (aka Grace O'Malley), the notorious lady-pirate of the high seas. They had a few children who, by that parentage, must have been the "really ferocious" O'Flahertys! A famous scottish comedian's (who's name sounds a bit like "Ballyconneely") grandparents came from this village, so perhaps he has some ferocious pirate and O'Flaherty blood in him, too!

In spite of their ferocity, the Flaherty's were later deposed by the Protestant ascendancy in the 18th century and replaced by the McGoeghegan family (who became O'Neill) who took over their demesne and power.

The McGoeghagan-O'Neill dynasty crumbled after the great famine (c. 1847), with bankruptcy and a half built castle at Doon hill.

Attractions around Ballyconneely include Roundstone Bog to the east, the Derrygimla bog to the north near Ballinaboy, where Alcock and Brown crash landed in 1919 (also site of the First transatlantic wireless transmission station built by Marconi in 1905), and an 18 hole golf course at Aillebrack to the west. Of course there are also the beaches as mentioned above and the proximity of ballyconneely to Clifden and Roundstone and the Connemara national park adds to it's attractiveness.

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