Ireland (or Éire if you prefer) covers an area of just under 70,300 square kilometres; but while small (ranking 118th on the list of countries by total area), it is one of the most stunningly (and romantically) beautiful to visit, its comparatively small size allowing so much of it to be easily appreciated in a single visit.
One of the most beautiful parts of Ireland – for me, anyway – is Connemara, County Galway. Located on the west of Ireland and facing off against the Atlantic, Connemara has a magnificent coastline with multiple peninsulas, whilst just s short distance inland lay mountains such as the Twelve Bens / Pins (Na Beanna Beola) and the Maumturks / Maamturks (Sléibhte Mhám Toirc) together with the Pantry and Sheffrey ranges, all of which border the magnificent Connemara National Park, numerous rivers and lakes and lochs.
Connemara is also famous for its strong roots in traditional Irish culture, the fascinating history of mining within its borders (tours of some of the mines are available) and which sought Connemara Green Marble, copper pyrite, and minerals and gemstones in general. It’s also the point of arrival for Alcock and Brown and the end of their 1919 historic non-stop trans-Atlantic flight – and a lot more besides.
However, it the the region’s lochs that were the focus of my most recent excursion within Second Life. This is because Jade Koltai recently overhauled her Homestead region of Overland Hills to present another setting inspired by a physical world location: Derryclare Lough, a freshwater lake within Connemara located near the southern end of the Twelve Bens, and from which she has borrowed its Irish name, Loch Dhoire an Chláir.
Sitting at the mouth of the Inagh Valley and fed by water flowing to of the nearby Lough Inagh further up the valley, Derryclare Lough is so-named as it is close to the Derryclare mountain as it sits at the southern end of the Twelve Bens range. It is a lake perhaps most famous for its fishing, its conifer woods, its distinctive island reached via a stone causeway cutting through its shallows, and for being a favourite spot for photographers who have visited it from across the world.
The latter have, over the years, produced an plethora of beautiful images of the lake and its dramatic surroundings. Most of these feature the lake and its island under balmy summer skies, often at sunset. They are images that soften the area’s ruggedness into a more romantic idyl-like beauty. However, Jade eschews such a look for her design; offering something more in keeping with the weather that can sweep into Connemara from the nearby Atlantic, presenting a setting that is heavily overcast, the clouds lowering and spitting forth rain; the mountains and hills cast into the role of brooding hulks as they rise from the more distant landscape, their peaks silhouetted against the clouds and their shoulders wrapped in misty haze and their feet lost in shadow.
It’s an excellent choice, giving the entire setting an air of mystery and intrigue which helps set it as a place very much inspired by rather than modelled on the actual loch. This allows Jade to present a setting that carries the essentials of Derryclare Lough – the waters of the lake, the island within it, the peaks of the Twelve Bens – whilst also potentially casting her net wider to capture more of the essence of Connemara as whole.
Thus, within the setting come much of the rugged beauty of the peat bogs and moors of the region, a hint of the loneliness of crofting – even something of Connemara’s Medieval history. This takes the form of ruins of a castle / fortified house (courtesy of Marcthur Goosson, whose work forms the backbone of my own island home in Second Norway), which perhaps offers a hint of Clifden Castle with it arched entrance and single tower.
Jade’s use of region surrounds to create a sense of the mountains bordering the lough and to give added depth and life to the setting is simply superb; it’s easy to imagine you could just step off the region itself and strike out towards the rising peaks and perhaps find yourself on the Glencoaghan Horseshoe. Closer to home, the little crofter’s cottage located to one side of the setting perhaps also stands in place of the numerous small cottages that can be found along the shores of the lake and which can be used (with a suitable licence) as a base to go fishing on the waters of the lake and the rivers flowing into and from it.
Fishing on the lake is most often carried out from the “butts” – piers extending out from the shore -, and these are also represented within Jade’s build, as is the distinctive wooded island and the long stone causeway reaching out to it. The latter allows visitors walk out to the island and, should the need to escape the rain be felt, the tents set out on the island might provide it. Forming a little camp site, they are one of several places visitors can sit and pass the time to be found throughout the setting. Another such place sits to the south of the land, not too far from the ruins. A single wooden chair sits looking out over the the more distant land, a blanket draped over it and a lantern illuminating the ground in which it stands. To one side of the chair is a flat-topped boulder suggestive of a flat cairn topped by a cross and a vase of red roses. It’s a poignant little vignette, one suggestive of a place of memory and solace; one that adds yet more depth to the setting.
However, the best way to appreciate the setting is obviously to visit it. When you do so, make sure you have local sounds enabled to capture more of the region’s ambience. I’d also advise sticking with the local environment to fully appreciate Loch Dhoire an Chláir as intended by Jade. All told, another beautiful and atmospheric setting – and one not to be missed.
SLurl Details
- Loch Dhoire an Chláir (Overland Hills, rated Moderate)
