Wild Mayo

For any of you who're traveling to the Emerald Isle this summer, I would heartily advise you visit the west, specifically County Mayo. It's a pretty quiet county that keeps to itself most of the time, but it has some really fantastic museums and shops. I was just doing some research for a friend of mine who'll be visiting Ireland for a few weeks and remembered at least three great places to go in Mayo. If you're going to be in Galway anyway, you might as well make a day-trip or two, splurge and stay at the Stella Maris Hotel just outside of my ancestral homeplace...ish.