The Athenry Castles Heritage Looped Cycle Trail

A delightful journey of discovery through a beautiful hidden landscape

of east Galway.

Country Fair Day, Monivea

Tour Times/Dates: 9.30am, Athenry Castle, Sunday June 11th 

Duration: circa. 7hrs

Start location and route: Athenry Castle, continue onto Monivea Bog, to Monivea village, then onto Castle Ellen and finish up at Athenry Castle. 

Organiser: Cumann na bhFear (Men's Shed, Ballinfoile).
Contact: Brendan Smith, speediecelt@gmail.com 
The event is being organised in assocation with Galway Bike Festival and the national Bike Week.

With its largely unspoilt landscape of small farms, hedgerows, stone walls, lakes, bogs, rivers, castles, Gerogian mansions, network of botharíns and villages, east Galway is a largely unknown landscape waiting to be discovered by walkers and cyclists. 

The aim of this pioneering heritage tour is to open up a new heritage route that will allow visitors to experience these wonderful timeless features and environment by way of a leisurely cycle through a representative section of east Galway that could  act as a catalyst in the development of  a network of Greenways.

The circa 30km looped cycle tour will start at Athenry where we will have a guided tour of the Castle (above) followed by walk through medieval Athenry. After our interest of the town's local history is satisfied we travel onto the Monivea Road before turning right approximately two kilometres outside Athenry in the direction of Graigabbey. 

The participants will then cycle through the farmlands and bogs of Bengarra, (above) on into the village of Newcastle, along a botharín through the Monivea Bog with its fascinating flora and fauna; to the Monivea demesne with its collection of historical sites that was for centuries the home of the renowned Anglo-Norman fFrench family, one of the famous merchant tribes of Galway. 

fFrench Mausoleum

This will be followed by a stopover in the quaint plantation village of Monivea. 

From there the tour will continue onto Castle Ellen (above) for a picnic on the lawns of the famed Georgian mansion that was formerly the residency of the Anglo-Irish Lambert family. After a guided tour of the demesne by Its owner Michael Keaney, participants will cycle onto towards the town of Athenry to finish up at Athenry Castle. 

Abaondoned farm, Currantarmuid

Monivea Wood

3 Athenry Castles Trail Revisited: A Magical Mystery Tour through east Galway

Michael Keaney with the cycling group in front of Castle Ellen

The recent Three AthenryCastles looped heritage cycle tour as part of Galway Bike Week 2015 was truly a magical mystery tour across the bogs and botharíns of east Galway. Some of the participating cyclists knew the route and individual castles and villages that we were going to be travelling too. But this time each of us at each stopoff encountered something different, something exciting and at times even exotic. 

The Emerald Isle Express at Ceannt Station, Galway

From our arrival at Galway’s Ceannt Station where we gazed in awe at the classical Emerald Isle Express steam engine and luxurious rail carriages with its international clientele that was straight out of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express; to the food fair market with its mix of food, beverageg and crafts stalls that preceded by a guided tour of the hugely impressive medieval castle with its battlements, keep and towers in historic Athenry; then on the road pass small fields, bogs and the village of Newcastle before we came to view the carnivorous Venus Flytrap plants  and frogs of Monivea Bog; then down into the underground vaults of the aristocratic ffrench family castellated mausoleum with Russian, Maltese and Anglo-Irish coat-of-arms that lays deep in a forest to look at the lead coffins still decked with a wreath of flowers that was placed there in 1938. 

Coffin of Kathleen ffrench, ffrench Mausoleum

Then it was a journey through the woods to look at owl boxes positioned high in the trees by Norman Clune and his friends from the Monivea Wildlife group. In the McGann hostelry of the nearby colonial plantation village, we were served up a fine country spread of sandwiches and teas. 

MacGann's pub in quaint village of Monivea

After being thoroughly refreshed and energised, we cycled on through a picturesque landscape of traditional stone walls and fields populated with sheep and cattle to the Georgian splendour of Castle Ellen to be greeted by the ebullient Gaelic lord of the manor himself Michael Keaney. Every time we visit his historic demesne we encounter some new treasure. This time Michael brought us into a 19^th century garden ‘folly’, comprising a maze of arches and pathways. 

Alexandre Herman in Arch's Bar, Athenry

Our final stop was the new Arch Bar in Athenry which has been transformed into a fine trendy crafts beer and dining establishment. 

Cycling group in front of Athenry Castle

We look forward with anticipation to our next journey on this trail!

Athenry Food Market

Botharín in Tiaquin

Venus Flytrap, Monivea Bog

ffrench's Mausoleum, Monivea

Sculpture of Robert Percy ffrench, ffrench's Mausoleum

German Stain Glass windoww, ffrench's Mausoleum

Victorian era Folly (paths and arches), Castle Ellen

Details of our previous Three Athenry Castles Heritage Cycle Tour in August 2014 are here

 

Castle Ellen & the 3 Athenry Castles Heritage Cycle Trail: Part 1

As part of National Bike Week  and Galway Bike Festival, I initiated on behalf of Cumann na bhFear (Men's Shed) a new heritage cycle trail on Sunday June 15^th. 
The event will be repeated on Sunday August 30th. Rendezvous: 10.15am, in front of Athenry Castle. 

Known as the Three Athenry Castles' Heritage Looped Cycle Trail, it starts at Athenry (Irish = Baile Átha an Rí, "Ford of the King") Castle, continues on through the bogs of Bengarra and Monivea, through the demesne of the Anglo-Norman Ffrench family, onto the village of Monivea (Irish = Muine Mheá, "Meadow of the mead), with a stopover at the fine Georgian mansion of Castle Ellen and finishes up at its medieval starting point. 

Botharín, Currantarmuid

The rural landscape covered by the trail is a delightful though largely unknown (to the non-residents) cornucopia of small farms, hedgerows, traditional drystone walls, botharíns, villages, lakes, bogs, rivers, castles, and Georgian mansions that are waiting to be discovered by walkers and cyclists. 

fFrench Mausoleum, Monivea

One of the main highlight for participants will be a stop-over at the 1810 Castle Ellen (Caisleán Eilise) mansion where we will be greeted by the owner and renowned antiquarian Michael Keaney (Micheál Ó Cionnaith) and his assistant Annette Flanagan.

Castle Ellen jn its imperial heyday

Michael has a keen interest in ensuring that our looped heritage cycle trail becomes a permanent tourism fixture in east Galway as he has ambitious plans to transform this historical building and it grounds into an alternative hostel aimed towards the walkers’ and cyclists’ market. 

The new Dormitory

The proposed living quarters for guests has a dormitory layout, woodfire stoves, limestone walls and paintings by Lol Hardiman (see photo above).  

The Courtyard

Michael will bring us on a guided tour of his fascinating mansion, its extensive farmyard and outbuildings, the pasture lands and a new wood that he is populating with trees, native wildflowers and pathways.

Climbing an old demesne tree

Castle Ellen is the former residency of the Anglo-Irish Lambert family and the birthplace of one Isabella Lambert who was mother of the arch-Unionist and the great hate figure of Irish republicanism, Edward Carson. 

Captain Peter Lambert of Castle Ellen (c1785-1844)

He was known as the creator of Northern Ireland and a huge statute of him dominates the front of the Northern Ireland parliament at Stormont in Belfast. He is also remembered as the barrister responsible for prosecuting and ending the career of Oscar Wilde, his former friend, who supposedly was brought on a number of occasions to enjoy the hospitality and scenery of Castle Ellen whilst they were students together in Trinity College Dublin.

Dining Room

It seems that Edward spent many happy times at Castle Ellen. It was during his sojourns in east Galway that he learnt the Gaelic game of hurling which he helped popularized at Trinity College Dublin, one of the great bastions of British imperialism in Ireland.

Steps to the former Tennis & Croquet Lawns

Michael bought the demesne in 1974 when the buildings were in an advance state of disrepair and has spent much energies and monies over the subsequent years endeavouring to bring the place back to its former Victorian aristocratic splendour. A true labour of love that he deserves great admiration for.

Old farm machinery, Castle Ellen

In the process, he has built up an eclectic mix of memorabilia, from military artifacts to ancient farmyard machinery. You get a strong sense of the British Empire at its zenith as you wander through the remnants of croquet and tennis lawns, the walled gardens with their orchards and maze, the tree lined avenue, court yard, the pony-driven water well and the livestock tunnel.

Basement Servant's Quarters, Castle Ellen

During the 1990s, Castle Ellen was an renowned artists’ retreat, where painters, sculptors and others were given residency in lieu of restoration and enhancement works to the mansion,

The Three Athenry Castles Looped Heritage Cycle Trail: Route Overview

The c29km looped cycle tour starts at Athenry Castle and then travels onto the Monivea Road before turning right approximately 1.5km outside Athenry in the direction of Graigabbey. 

Bog Cotton, Monivea

The route then passes through the farmlands and bogs of Bengarra, 

Bengarra Bog

on into the village of Newcastle, along a botharín through the Monivea Bog with its fascinating flora and fauna; 

Monivea Woods

to the Monivea demesne with its collection of historical sites that was for centuries the home of the renowned Anglo-Norman fFrench family, one of the famous merchant tribes of Galway. 
This is followed by a stopover in the quaint colonial plantation village of Monivea where flax in former times was laid out to dry on its spacious green.

All the Fun of the Monivea Fair!

 

Our tour of August 30th coincides with the hosting of the annual Monivea Fair aka Agricultural Show where we will enjoy all the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, culinary delights, displays of prized animals and vintage farm equipment, fairground attractions, games and merriment of a traditional rural gathering at the end of the harvest in Ireland in days gone by.

Prized Sheep at Monivea Fair

Fowl & Vintage Tractors at Monivea Fair

 

Archery at Monivea Fair

After this thoroughly enjoyable event, we will continue onto Castle Ellen where visitors can enjoy a walk along the lawns of the famed Georgian mansion that was formerly the residency of the Anglo-Irish Lambert family. 

Lamberts' Coat of Arms

The route then continues onto for five km to the medieval town of Athenry.  
Click here for an online map of the route.

Keep, Athenry Castle