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Because of the dramatic grandeur of the Connemara mountains and the romantic pull of Galway, you expect CLIFDEN ( Clochán , "the stepping stones") - known as the capital of Connemara - to be something special. In fact it's a very small place with only two significant streets. Its great asset is its position, perched high above the deep sides of the boulder-strewn estuary of the River Owenglin. The circling jumble of the Twelve Bens provides a magnificent scenic backdrop, and the broad streets seem consciously to open out to take in the fresh air of the mountains and the Atlantic. Gimlet spires of matching nineteenth-century churches pierce the sky, giving Clifden a sharp, distinctive skyline.

Clifden seems to be trying hard to cultivate the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Galway. Lots of European tourists come here, but, aiming to serve all tastes, the town somehow misses the mark. Bars have loud disco music blaring out onto the streets - exactly the kind of thing most Gaelophile Europeans have come to get away from. It attracts a fair number of young Dubliners, too, revving up the life of this otherwise quiet, rural town. The place is at its most interesting when it's busy being Irish: during the annual Connemara Pony Show , for example, on the third Thursday in August. This is for the sale and judging of Connemara ponies, tough, hardy animals that are well suited to a harsh bog and mountain existence, yet renowned for their docile temperament. There's also a community festival in the last week of September.