The Galway Hooker in the picture on the right—Bláth na hÓige—was built on Leitir Mealláin (Lettermullan island) off the Connemara coast in the nineteenth-century, and as of 2014 is operating out of Roundstone in Connemara, bringing people on 2-3 hour sailing trips around Roundstone Bay and its islands. The distinctive shape of the hooker is a trademark of the Galway coastline; originally fishing boats, they became ubiquitous as cargo-carriers ferrying goods along the coast from Galway City (find out more about them here). On those grounds alone it makes for a fascinating excursion; the development of the Wild Atlantic Way has given Bláth na hÓige a new role in the twenty-first century, but in doing so it provides a striking insight into the nuts and bolts of a key feature of life off the west coast in previous centuries. Well worth a jaunt if you’re in the vicinity.
Thanks to Cliona Ní Chualain, and to Flan Kelly and co. for letting us on-board: www.wildatlanticadventures.com