County Leitrim

Leitrim is the most sparsely populated county in the Republic and has only a few miles of coastline. A trip to County Leitrim is still well worth it: many boating holidays on the Shannon begin here, and in the north you'll find valleys with waterfalls that inspired Yeats.

Landscape and Towns

Lough Allen divides the county into a hilly northern part with table mountains and valleys and a watery southern part with lakes and canals. Carrick-on-Shannon, the county seat, is the center of boating tourism: the marina has rental boats that you can take out on the Shannon and the Shannon-Erne Waterway without a license. The small town also has a lively pub scene and is popular for bachelor and bachelorette parties. Manorhamilton in the north and Mohill in the south are quiet market towns.

Sights in County Leitrim

Carrick-on-Shannon is home to the Costello Chapel, one of the smallest chapels in the world. Glencar Waterfall on the border with Sligo can be reached via a short forest trail; Yeats mentions it in his poem "The Stolen Child." Parke's Castle on Lough Gill is a restored 17th-century Plantation manor house. Near Drumshanbo, the Acres Lake Boardwalk leads across the water as a floating wooden walkway, and the distillery in Drumshanbo produces a well-known gin. Hikers will find quiet routes on the Leitrim Way and on the uplands around Dromahair.

Getting There and Best Time to Visit

Carrick-on-Shannon is on the Dublin–Sligo rail line. The best time to visit is between May and September, when the boating season is in full swing; anglers come almost year-round. The cuisine is hearty: pubs serve stews, lamb, and fish from the lakes. Leitrim is also a stronghold of Irish folk music, with music weeks held in Ballinamore and Drumshanbo. On the eastern shore of Lough Allen rises Sliabh an Iarainn, the "Iron Mountain," where iron and coal were once mined; the Arigna Mining Experience just across the border in Roscommon tells the story with underground tours led by former miners. In the town of Dromahair in the north, the ruins of Creevelea Abbey recall the Franciscans who lived here in the 16th century.