Connacht lies in the west of Ireland and comprises the counties of Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo. It is the smallest and least densely populated of the four provinces, shaped by rugged mountain landscapes, deep bays and one of the most unspoiled coastlines on the island.
Galway, the province's cultural capital, is known for its colourful terraced houses and traditional music sessions, and serves as the gateway to Connemara National Park and the Aran Islands, where Irish remains an everyday language. Croagh Patrick in Mayo, Ireland's most important pilgrimage mountain, is climbed by tens of thousands of pilgrims each year, often on the last Sunday of July.
Historically, Connacht is inseparably linked to a dark chapter of Irish history: after Oliver Cromwell's conquest in the 17th century, dispossessed Irish landowners from the rest of the country were banished to Connacht — captured in the phrase "To Hell or to Connacht". Sligo, meanwhile, is known as the home of poet W. B. Yeats, who is buried at the foot of the distinctive flat-topped mountain Benbulben.
Travellers to Connacht find a province that sees fewer tourists than the south, but wins visitors over with unspoiled nature and Gaelic culture.