Connemara Isles includes an original 1850 thatched house, a natural harbour and a truly distinctive island 9-hole golf course that has, likely, some of the most picturesque golf holes in Ireland. Additionally it includes enjoying a sea-front position in the heart of the Connemara Gaeltacht on Ireland’s west coast, among the wild, rugged beauty of the ‘Wild Atlantic Way’. The course is distractingly beautiful with breathtaking views of Cill Chiaráin Bay, Cnoc Leitir Móir and Cnoc Mordáin mountain and with ocean inlets and rocky outcrops providing wily natural hazards. Set within circa 56-acres [22.6-hectares] it, includes a linked island and a natural harbour.
This charming course offers a unique golfing experience with traditional Connemara stone walls marking out the boundary and magnificent vista of rugged land and sea. The design purposely embraces the wild setting, with undulating fairways and greens magically positioned within the beautifully rugged landscape, optimizing the ocean front position and phenomenal panoramic scenic vistas. A causeway bridge links to a small island and the 3rd green, the 4th hole and 5th fairway. Furthermore, ruinous pre-famine cottages bound the sixth green. Designed and constructed as a nine-hole layout in 1993 by Tom Craddock and Pat Ruddy, notable designer of The European Club and others, the course at Connemara Isles encapsulates all that is good about old fashioned golf played in stunning surroundings. It is a 9-hole course with 18 tee boxes, measuring 5,260 yards per-70 with a standard scratch of 67 and a course record of 63. Ruddy notes in his book “Holes in my Head” that while small, it is full of character and joy. It sets out “hole measurements of this delightful island hopper of a course which are 323, 354, 159, 270, 412, 165, 284, 481 and 186 for a total of 2634 yards for nine and just 5,268 for 18 holes”.
The seaside clubhouse incorporates the thatched ancestral home of the founders. Their great grandfather constructing it in 1850 when he returned from America as one of the survivors of the ill-fated Brig St. John famine ship that perished on the rocks near Boston Harbour in Cape Cod in 1849. The thatched house now purposed as a delightful bar within the clubhouse, replete with an open turf fire and linking to an extension added to provide a function room, an office, catering kitchen, toilets and changing rooms. An unexecuted plan to create a roof-top sea-front terrace would be amazing. It is the only thatched clubhouse in Ireland. Golf aside, the clubhouse has the potential to be, or incorporate, a phenomenal private coastal home. 3,702 square feet or 344 square metres [approx.].
Connemara Isles is situated at Annaghvane in Ceantar na nOileán, or the Island District, on the northwestern edge of Galway Bay. It’s an archipelago of low-lying islands characterised by dry stone walls and a patchwork of small rocky fields. A causeway bridge links to the mainland from the adjacent village of Bealadangan (Béal an Daingin). Amenities include a pub, a post office and a primary school. The sea around Connemara Isles is famous for its natural oyster and scallop beds and uncommonly there are seaweed harvesting rights. Traditional boating festivals in the Summer include heritage ‘Galway Hooker’ and Currach racing classes. The area offers a unique opportunity to experience wild Irish Connemara culture at its finest. The club has formed a fun and congenial social hub for locals and visitors alike.
Located a 1-hour drive west of Galway city, the juxtaposition of the lively Atlantic Ocean and the quiet scenic vista of bogs, valleys and lakes and patchwork fields of Connemara is incredibly appealing. Irish (Gaeilge) is the everyday spoken language but locals easily switch to English (often peppered with Irish phrases). Here is a treasure house of all that is best in rich Irish heritage, culture and folklore, where people still sing and dance in the old traditional manner.