POSTED FROM

DRUMKEERAN

CO. LEITRIM · IE

Drumkeeran
Droim Caorthainn, Co. Leitrim

The West Leitrim
STOP 08 / 08

Droim Caorthainn · Co. Leitrim

A drumlin village under Corry Mountain at the top of Lough Allen, where the old woods were burned for iron and the walking routes still run through.

Drumkeeran - you will also see it spelled Drumkeerin - is a small village in the drumlin hills of west Leitrim, sitting where the R280 and the R200 cross at the foot of Corry Mountain. Lough Allen is just to the south, narrow and long, and Slieve Anierin, the Iron Mountain, fills the eastern skyline. It is a real place with a real history, but it is small: around 220 people at the last count, one pub, a shop or two, a heritage centre. Set your expectations to match and it rewards you.

The history is in the trees that are no longer there. A nineteenth-century survey of Leitrim claimed that a hundred years earlier the whole country was one undivided forest, so that from Drumshanbo to Drumkeeran, nine or ten miles, you could travel the whole way from tree to tree by the branches. Those woods on the west side of Lough Allen were cut down and burned to charcoal to feed the iron works around Slieve Anierin. The mountain kept its name. The forest did not come back the same way.

What survives is a working country village. Wynne's Market Bar on the main road has been pouring since 1839 and doubles as the petrol station. The Drumkeerin Heritage Centre keeps a reconstructed Irish cottage and farmyard, sweat house and all, with a craft and coffee shop attached. The Leitrim Way and the Miners Way both run through the surrounding hills, and Lough Allen is a short drive for the anglers. Drumkeeran has given Ireland a famous flute player and a couple of notable poets and singers, which is not bad going for a place this size.

Use it as a base for the uplands above Lough Allen, or as a quiet stop on a walking route, and it makes sense. Roll in expecting restaurants and nightlife and you will be back in the car in ten minutes wondering what the fuss was. This is the part of Leitrim the stag parties never find.

Population

~220 (2016)

Pubs

1and counting

Walk score

Lough Allen and the Iron Mountain ridge both within a short drive

Founded

A fair and market village in the drumlins below Corry Mountain; the woods here were cleared for charcoal from the 1700s

Coords

54.1704° N, 8.1426° W

01 / 08

At a glance.

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

01 The setting

Drumlin hills under Corry Mountain, north of Lough Allen.

Drumkeeran sits at the meeting of the R280 and R200 in the low hills above the northern tip of Lough Allen, with Slieve Anierin (the Iron Mountain) rising to the east. The Leitrim Way and the Miners Way both pass within reach. This is walking and angling country, not a town.

Walks & outings → 02 The history

A forest village that was burned for iron.

A nineteenth-century survey said you could once travel from Drumshanbo to Drumkeeran from tree to tree by the branches. The woods on the west of Lough Allen were felled for charcoal to feed the ironworks around Slieve Anierin. What is left is open drumlin country.

Stories & lore → 03 The size

Around 220 people, one pub, one heritage centre.

In 1925 the village had 54 houses, 11 of them licensed to sell drink. Today it is far quieter than that. Come for the landscape and the heritage centre, not for a night out. The scarcity is honest.

Set your expectations →

02 / 08

The pubs.

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

Wynne's Market Bar

Old-style village local, since 1839

Country pub & petrol station, on the R280

The pub in Drumkeeran, and one of the oldest in Leitrim. On the main road through the village, doubling as the petrol station. An immaculate old-style bar with a good pint and the kind of barman who has advice whether you asked for it or not. The annual tractor run in March ends here with live music. If you want a pint in Drumkeeran, this is the address - there is no second option to compare it to.

03 / 08

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
Self-catering and B&B around Lough Allen	Lakeside cottages and rooms, short drive	Drumkeeran itself has very little in the way of beds. The accommodation is scattered around the Lough Allen shore and the wider Drumshanbo and Dromahair area - self-catering cottages aimed at anglers and walkers, the odd B&B. Book ahead and be prepared to drive the last few minutes to the village. Drumshanbo, twenty minutes south, has more choice if you want a base with services.

04 / 08

Stories & lore.

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

From tree to tree by the branches

The woods that were burned for iron

A nineteenth-century survey of Leitrim recorded that a hundred years before, almost the whole county was one continued, undivided forest, so that from Drumshanbo to Drumkeeran, a distance of nine or ten miles, a person could travel the whole way from tree to tree by the branches. Those forests on the west side of Lough Allen were felled and converted to charcoal to fuel the iron works around Slieve Anierin, the mountain that still carries the name Iron Mountain. By 1782 there were large piles of timber stacked in the area. The bare drumlin country you drive through today is what was left when the woods were burned out from under the trade.

Pub, petrol pump and tractor run

Wynne's Market Bar, since 1839

Wynne's Market Bar on the R280 through the village has been licensed since 1839, which makes it one of the oldest pubs in the county. It is an old-style country bar that also works as the village petrol station, the two trades sharing the one roof in the way small Irish villages have always run. The pub is wheelchair accessible and well kept, the kind of place where the barman has an opinion worth hearing. Its annual tractor run, usually in March, draws the locals out and finishes with live music from whoever in the parish can play.

McKenna, McPartlan and Woods

Three churches and a flute player

For a small village Drumkeeran carries three churches - St Brigid's Roman Catholic (1869), St Joseph's Church of Ireland (1833) and St Patricia's Presbyterian (1844) - and a surprising roll of names. John McKenna (1880 to 1947), one of the great Irish flute players of the 78rpm era, was born near here and emigrated to New York. The traditional singer Mary McPartlan (1955 to 2020) came from the village. The poet and playwright Vincent Woods, born 1960, is from Tarmon nearby. A parish this size does not usually field a side like that.

05 / 08

Things to do outside.

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

The Leitrim Way The long-distance route between Drumshanbo and Manorhamilton passes through the country around Drumkeeran. You can take it in sections from the village - upland tracks, forestry road and quiet boreen, with views down over Lough Allen. Boots and a forecast check; the open ground holds water.

sections, or the full 48 kmdistance

variestime

The Miners Way The waymarked route that links the old coal-working districts of the Arigna and Lough Allen basin runs within easy reach. It is the walking version of the area's industrial history - the same seams that fed the mines at Arigna over the hill. Drumkeeran is a reasonable jumping-off point for a section.

sectionsdistance

variestime

Corry Mountain and the Lough Allen shore The hill the village sits under, with the long narrow finger of Lough Allen below. There is no single signposted summit walk here, so it is more a matter of following the lanes and the shore for the views than ticking a peak. Slieve Anierin across the water is the bigger climb if you want one.

short drive plus walkingdistance

1-2 hourstime

06 / 08

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The walking routes dry out, the hills green up, and Wynne's runs its tractor run in March. Long enough daylight for a section of the Leitrim Way and a pint after.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The best of the walking and angling season around Lough Allen. The heritage centre is at its most likely to be open. Still very quiet by any tourist-town standard - that is the point of west Leitrim.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Low light on the drumlins and the lake, fewer people again, the hill colours turning. A good month for the routes if the weather holds.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days, the open ground waterlogged, and not much open in the village beyond the pub. Fine for a fireside pint and a drive along Lough Allen, less so for the hills.

◐ Mind yourself

07 / 08

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

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

Arriving hungry expecting restaurants

There is one pub and a heritage-centre coffee shop, not a dining scene. Eat in Drumshanbo or Carrick-on-Shannon, or bring supplies. Treat Drumkeeran as a walking and landscape stop, not a meal stop.

Looking for a marked summit walk on Corry Mountain

There is no single signposted Corry Mountain trail from the village. The proper waymarked walking is the Leitrim Way and the Miners Way through the surrounding hills. Plan around those rather than expecting a peak path.

Confusing the spelling

Drumkeeran and Drumkeerin are the same village - signs, the heritage centre and the development bodies use both. Do not waste time deciding one of them is somewhere else.

Getting there.

By car

Drumkeeran sits at the junction of the R280 and R200 in north-west Leitrim. From Carrick-on-Shannon it is roughly 30 minutes via Drumshanbo on the R280 up the west side of Lough Allen. Sligo and Manorhamilton are both about 40 minutes to the north-west.

By bus

Bus Éireann route 462 calls on Fridays, linking Drumkeeran to Manorhamilton and Sligo. Route 469 calls on Saturdays, running to Drumshanbo, Carrick-on-Shannon and Longford. Outside those market-day services public transport is very thin - a car is the realistic option.

By train

No railway. The nearest stations are at Carrick-on-Shannon and Dromod on the Dublin-Sligo line, both around 30 to 40 minutes south by road.

By air

Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is about 1 hour 15 minutes by car. Dublin Airport (DUB) is roughly 2 hours 30 minutes via the N4.