Overview
Tully barely registers as a village – no town centre, nothing to pay into – and that is rather the point. It sits on the Renvyle Peninsula in north-west Connemara, County Galway, with the Twelve Bens rising behind it and the Mweelrea range in County Mayo across the water. The name comes from the Irish Tulaigh, ‘hill’, for the low rise that slopes down towards the sea. What it has is a beach, a pier and the walking, with longer Connemara trips an easy drive away.
History
Tully has never been more than a townland of coastal farming and fishing, and it has stayed largely off the tourist trail. The surrounding peninsula carries a longer story: Renvyle Castle, a ruined tower house on the shore, and the 19th-century Anglo-Irish estate that became the Renvyle House Hotel, once home to Oliver St John Gogarty and a retreat for W.B. Yeats.
What to see and do
- Trá na mBean (Ladies Beach) – a small sandy strand, sheltered enough for a swim. Google Maps
- Teach Ceoil (Music House) – the community-run venue for traditional music and dance, usually on Friday evenings. Teach Ceoil
- Tully Pier – sheltered rock-pools that keep children busy, with the Mweelrea range across the bay.
- Renvyle Castle ruins – a short drive to the tower house ruins above the sea.
- Renvyle House Hotel – the historic hotel is the obvious spot for a drink after a walk. Renvyle House Hotel
If you only do one thing, walk the Renvyle Loop, a 7-km circuit that takes in Ladies Beach and the pier with sea-cliff views along the way. The village also sits on the Connemara Loop, so you can head west towards the fishing village of Cleggan (ferries to Inishbofin) or east towards Killary Fjord and Leenane.
Wildlife
The Renvyle Peninsula is a recognised Important Bird Area. Early mornings are best for oystercatchers, kittiwakes and storm-petrels, and spring migration brings guillemots and razorbills to the cliffs, with the occasional peregrine. In summer the dunes near Ladies Beach hold butterflies, the small tortoiseshell among them.
Nearby day trips
- Connemara National Park at Letterfrack, a few kilometres inland, has the Diamond Hill loop, a 7-km climb to a summit with views over the Atlantic and the mountains.
- Kylemore Abbey – the Gothic-revival abbey on its lake, a short drive east.
- Ballinakill Bay – a sheltered bay north of Tully, quieter than the main beaches.
- An Trá Mór – a larger Blue Flag beach about 12 km east, with summer lifeguards. (An Trá)
Practical information
Getting there
By car, take the N59 from Galway and follow signs for Renvyle and Tully; the drive is about 1½ hours. Citylink and Bus Éireann run from Galway to Letterfrack, which leaves you a few kilometres short of Tully. Shannon and Dublin Airport are both 2-3 hours by car or coach.
Fees and facilities
The village, the beach, the pier and the Teach Ceoil are all free, though the music house charges for the occasional special concert. There is free parking near the village centre and at the pier, and public toilets at the pier and near the Teach Ceoil. A handful of pubs serve food; the Renvyle House Hotel does a more formal dinner. Mobile coverage is fine in the village but patchy on the higher ground.
The paths around the beach and pier are level, but the rock-pool areas are uneven. Dogs are welcome on the beach and most trails, on a lead near livestock.
Where to stay
The Renvyle House Hotel has rooms over the Atlantic, and the peninsula has family-run B&Bs and self-catering cottages. In July and August, book ahead. Browse options via Booking.com.