Oughterard, An Uachtar Ard, Co. Galway

An Uachtar Ard · Co. Galway

Angling village on Lough Corrib where the road to Connemara starts. Brown trout and salmon, castle ruins, walking routes.

Oughterard sits on the western shore of Lough Corrib, the second-largest lake in Ireland, which means it sits at the point where farming country meets water and the country that starts after the water. The road to Connemara runs west from here - the N59 - and the village knows it is a pass-through. It does not try to be anything else.

What you need to know: this is an angling village first. Brown trout from the lough, salmon from the Owenriff River. The boats still go out in season. The tackle shops still know exactly which bank is fishing that week. The village main street is two rows of pubs and craft shops and a petrol pump. The Corrib Way walking route passes through. Aughnanure Castle - an O'Flaherty tower from around 1500 - sits three kilometres east on the shore and is run by the OPW. All of this is low-key. No tourism board prose. Just a working place that happens to have water on one side and bog on the other.

Do not come for a long walk from here - the Corrib Way passes through but does not start here. Come for a night, a brown trout if you have a rod, a pint in one of the four or five decent pubs, and the knowledge that tomorrow the roads west open up and stay narrow until you get to the coast. Oughterard is the breath before the climb.

Population

~1,300

Walk score

Main street to the lough in five minutes

Founded

c. 1400s (fishing settlement)

Coords

53.3661° N, 9.8750° W

01 / 09

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 Lough Corrib

Twenty-seven kilometres of water and trout.

The second-largest lake in Ireland sits on the doorstep. Brown trout and salmon in the lough and the Owenriff River. Boat hire for day-anglers, shores for walkers. On a clear day you see the Twelve Bens across the water.

Walks & outings → 02 Aughnanure Castle

O'Flaherty stronghold, three kilometres east on the shore.

A tower house built around 1500 sits on a rocky outcrop overlooking the lough. Six storeys of stone. OPW-managed, signposted, walk-in. The river gorge beside it runs faster when it rains.

Stories & lore → 03 Connemara starts here

The N59 west is the main gateway.

Drive west from the village and the bogs open up. Clifden in ninety minutes. Leenane in two hours. Use Oughterard as the last fuel and coffee stop before the high-ground roads narrow.

When to go →

02 / 09

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Faherty's Bar

Traditional, welcoming

Pub, The Square

A traditional pub on the Square in the heart of the village, well regarded for its welcome and its pints. Lets rooms upstairs too. The kind of bar that turns up on every local's shortlist.

The Boat Inn

Busy, food-led

Pub & restaurant, The Square

A Square-side pub doing serious food alongside the pints - chowder, burgers, the usual done properly. Ten ensuite rooms upstairs if you want to stay where you are drinking. Fills fast around the Galway Races.

Powers Thatch

Cosy, local, live music

Thatched bar & restaurant, Main Street

A genuine thatched pub in the centre of the village with a strong local following and a kitchen that punches above its weight. Live music some nights, and people drive back for the seafood chowder.

The Angler's Bar

Old bar, serious pints

Traditional bar, Main Street

A traditional old bar on Main Street with a reputation for its Guinness. Not to be confused with the Anglers Rest Hotel, which is in Headford on the far side of Lough Corrib and turns up mis-filed under Oughterard in more than one directory.

03 / 09

Where to eat.

Place	Type	€	Local note
Camp Street Cafe	Café, Camp Street	€	A proper daytime café just off Main Street - coffee, soups, sandwiches. The reliable stop before a day on the lough or the road west.
The Boat Inn	Pub food, The Square	€€	The pub kitchen does serious food - chowder, burgers, hake and chips - and gets busy with it. Same premises as the bar, so you can eat and stay put for the pint after.
Powers Thatch	Thatched bar kitchen, Main Street	€€	Sandwiches and light bites through the day, heartier plates from evening, all under a thatched roof in the centre of the village. The Atlantic seafood chowder is the one people talk about.

04 / 09

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
Connemara Lake Hotel	Hotel, Main Street	The hotel in the middle of the village, on Main Street. Walking distance to everything and to the Owenriff; the bar is its own reason to stay.
A note on the Corrib Hotel	-	Older guides, and an earlier version of this page, sent people to a Corrib Hotel on Bridge Street. A hotel of that name did trade there - it was the Railway Hotel before that - but we could find no current website, booking listing or social presence for it, and it does not appear on any live Oughterard accommodation list. Do not plan a night around it. Note also that Corrib House, which does trade, is in Galway city, not here.
Currarevagh House	Country house, lough shore	A Victorian country house in 180 acres of parkland on the shore of Lough Corrib, run by the same family for well over a century. Rooms look out over the lough or the mountains. Not suitable for children under twelve.
Woodlands Guest Accommodation	Guesthouse, edge of village	A well-reviewed B&B a short walk from the village centre. Modern, clean, the standard reliable Oughterard bed.

05 / 09

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

O'Flaherty tower, c.1500

Aughnanure Castle

A five-storey tower house on a rocky outcrop overlooking Lough Corrib, three kilometres east of the village. Built by the O'Flaherty family when they owned Connemara. The walls are two metres thick. The windows are small - arrows and light, in that order. A river gorge runs alongside, narrow enough to jump and deep enough that you would not. The OPW manages the site now. The visitor centre explains what the towers were for - nobody lives in them anymore.

Brown trout, brown water

The Owenriff River

The river flows through the village toward the lough, maybe three metres wide in most places, fast when it rains. Brown trout in the pools, salmon in season. The best fishing is downstream toward the lough. Ask locally which bank is fishing this week and what the river wants.

Where the N59 west begins

Gateway to Connemara

Oughterard sits where the farming country stops and Connemara begins. The N59 west goes from here through Maam Cross and on toward Clifden and the coast. There are no more towns west of Oughterard until Clifden, ninety minutes away by car if the bog roads are friendly. The village is the last fuel stop, the last coffee stop, the last place to buy supplies or hire gear before the landscape opens up.

06 / 09

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Aughnanure Castle & River Gorge Signposted three kilometres east from the village center. The tower house sits on a rocky outcrop. The river gorge runs alongside - walk the full circuit. Winter or wet weather makes the gorge impassable - check locally.

3 km returndistance

45 mintime

Lough Corrib Shore Walk Multiple access points from the village. The shore is mixed - water, rock, fields. No formal path in all places, but locals walk it regularly. The north shore is easier; the west shore is rougher but emptier.

Variable, 2-8 kmdistance

30 min-2 hourstime

Corrib Way (through-section) A waymarked long-distance walk from Galway to Ballinacraggy in Connemara. Oughterard sits roughly in the middle. The section through Oughterard is mostly on good paths and quiet roads. Do the full walk if you have the time; do the Galway-Oughterard section if you don't.

40 km full route / 8 km sectiondistance

Half-day section / 2-3 days full routetime

Boat hire on Lough Corrib Boat hire available from the village for anglers and explorers. A full crossing to the east shore takes a morning. The lake is wind-prone - do not cross in bad weather.

Full lake or fishing marksdistance

2-8 hourstime

07 / 09

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Brown trout season ends on May 31st. March and April are best. Quiet, green, the light is clean.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Busy on the Connemara road. The village itself is quiet. Swimming-water temperature by late July. Tourist season on the N59 - expect traffic to Clifden.

◐ Mind yourself

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Salmon season starts. The weather is dramatic. The lough is beautiful when it is stormy. Fewer cars on the road west.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Most of the guest houses close. Two or three pubs stay open. The lough is grey. The roads west can ice up - know the conditions before you drive.

◐ Mind yourself

08 / 09

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

The two-hour 'lake tour' boat from the pier

There is no established tour. If someone is selling you one, walk the shore instead. The water is the same.

Fishing without local knowledge or a guide

The lough is large and the good marks move with the season and the light. Hire a boat with a local, or ask in one of the Main Street pubs which bank to try.

Driving west in winter without fuel and supplies

There is nothing on the N59 between Oughterard and Clifden. No petrol, no hot food, no shelter. Tank up here.

Getting there.

By car

Galway to Oughterard is 27km west on the N59, roughly 35 minutes. Clifden from here is 1h 15m. Leenane is 1h 45m.

By bus

Bus Éireann routes 419 and others from Galway pass through Oughterard on the way to Clifden and Connemara. Check timetables; most runs are one or two a day.

By train

Nearest station is Galway. Bus from there.

By air

Ireland West Airport (Knock) is 1h 15m west. Galway is 35 minutes east (then bus west).