The Hedge School — An Scoil Chois Claí

 

 

Connemara is a beautiful, wild region — a land of sea and stone, of lakes, bogs and mountains — which constitutes the westernmost part of County Galway. That’s The Hedge School, in the image below: see the shadow of a house tucked in among the trees there on the right, on the other side of the lough (from which we are separated by a road and a field).

 

 

We’re in the Gaeltacht (an Irish-speaking area; Irish is also spoken here at The Hedge School, as well as Scottish Gaelic) close to the Gaelic heartlands of Rosmuc and An Cheathrú Rua (home of the traditional Galway Hooker fishing boats). Gleann Trasna (which means ‘crossing valley’ in Irish) is a lovely hidden valley in the hills, with green fields surrounded by drystone walls, on the shores of a beautiful, wild loch. The fascinating seaweed-strewn tidal inlets of south Connemara are close by, and the beautiful Maamturk Mountains, visible from our townland, are just a ten-minute drive away.

We’re about 45 minutes away from the vibrant old city of Galway. Shannon airport is a couple of hours away by road, and Knock airport is about an hour and a half away.