Aclare is a small village in south Sligo, west of Tubbercurry, in the parish of Kilmactigue. The Irish name - Áth an Chláir, the ford of the plain - points at the village's role on the Inagh river, a tributary of the Moy that runs west through this country and out to Killala Bay.
The village is small - a couple of pubs, a church, a school, a few houses. The reason south Sligo people will mention it is the music. The hills around Aclare and the neighbouring parish of Kilmactigue have produced fiddlers and singers for generations, and the south Sligo style that Michael Coleman recorded in New York in the 1920s - and that the Coleman Centre in Gurteen now archives - has its roots in this country.
Treat Aclare as a quiet stop on a south Sligo drive. Use Tubbercurry or Sligo town as the base, and come out here for a pub session if one is on. The South Sligo Summer School in mid-July spills out into the parishes - Aclare gets its share.
Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.
Aclare - the ford of the plain - sits where the Inagh river crosses the south Sligo back country. The river runs west into the Moy and out to Killala Bay.
Stories & lore → 02 The musicAclare sits in the parish of Kilmactigue with Toorlestraun, deep in south Sligo trad country. A long list of fiddlers and singers has come out of these hills. The Coleman, Killoran and Morrison generation drank in pubs not far away.
Stories & lore → 03 The settingTen kilometres west of Tubbercurry on the back roads. The Ox ridge is south, Lough Talt and the Moy country west. A through-village on the way to Foxford and Ballina.
Next stops →The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.
There is no bad time. There are different times.
Salmon up the system. Sessions kicking back into life after the winter slump.
South Sligo Summer School week in mid-July is the time to come - sessions in every parish pub.
Light at its best on the hills, sessions back to their usual rhythm.
Quiet. Sessions reduce. A pint by the fire if the village pub is open.
If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.
Aclare is a working south Sligo village with no signposted attractions. The music is the reason. Plan around a session.
The roads in from Tubbercurry are narrow, twisty and unlit. In the dark, slow right down - the local farm traffic does not stop.
Sligo to Aclare is 40 minutes via the N4/N17 and back roads. Tubbercurry is 15 minutes east.
Local Link 466 covers parts of south Sligo most days.
No station. Nearest is Sligo MacDiarmada (40 min).
Ireland West Airport Knock (NOC) is 35 minutes.