Home to

Leitrim in Cyberspace

This article was originally written for inclusion in the Leitrim Guardian annual, 2003 - it was of course rejected!   The URLs are included in the text so that it still makes sense when/if printed.
Inclusion of any website is not an endorsement for its contents.  Absence of a website in this article is probably due to my ignorance of its existence or to spare some webmaster's blushes.

The internet and the world-wide-web is a great leveller. Access to information, people, even places is no longer dependent on money, position, geographic location or academic qualification. I can promote myself, my business or even my beliefs to a global audience without getting up from my chair: I can be in Ballinamore and look up libraries in Boston; I can sell books from a shop in Carrick-on-Shannon to a person in Canberra; and I can read how Melvin Gaels is doing as easily in Kathmandu as in Kinlough.

This article barely touches the tip of the 138,000 pages and some 500 web-sites that feature the word Leitrim.  Rather it attempts to give a flavour of what you can find, read, buy or sell in the virtual Leitrim.  I apologise in advance for errors and omissions.

Like the county and the people, some of what you find is weird, some wonderful, some trite, some riveting.  All Leitrim is here – official organisations, GAA fan clubs, B&Bs, artists, philosophers, historians, genealogists, overseas societies, businesses and volunteer organisations.  Some of the sites have been abandoned after the initial fit of enthusiasm that drove their creation; others are alive and well and reflect the passion and devotion of their creators. 

Starting with Official Leitrim: the County Council sets out its stall at www.leitrimcoco.ie while the Leitrim Enterprise Board has an attractive and informative site at www.leitrimenterprise.ie.

If you want to discover a long-lost second cousin once removed (or you think you are that long lost cousin) go to genforum.genealogy.com/ireland/leitrim.  Here, lots of people are discussing their Leitrim roots and are looking for information about ancestors, both recent and ancient.  You’re guaranteed to know someone who knows someone.  The Leitrim Genealogy Centre can point you to other resources at www.irishroots.net/Leitrim.htm.  My favourite site for Leitrim genealogy has to be www.leitrim-roscommon.com run by Ed Finn and Laurie McDonough in New Jersey.  Here, you can learn the names of the 1533 townlands in Leitrim, or find out who lived where, in 1901: the entire 1901 census is on-line and searchable.

If you want to know the history of the place rather than the family tree, www.loughrynn.net is a well-researched site that covers the Lough Rynn estate, Lord Leitrim and Mohill during the 19th century.

And if you want to go farther back in time to our mythical and spiritual origins, try out the Tuile Teanga Project (www.iol.ie/~sinann/ttp/home.html) at Teach Shinanna, Keshcarrigan: it seeks to ‘promote an understanding of the living power of the old Celtic stories and an awareness of their creative inspiration.’  Or find the commander of The Society of the Order of the Ancient Way at www.astronomy.net/forums/god/messages/15576.shtml?show=top.  For prehistoric monuments in Leitrim go to www.beyond-the-pale.co.uk/leitrim.htm.

There are a number of web-sites run by dedicated people which keep Leitrim exiles in touch with GAA results and goings-on in their home clubs.  Perhaps, more than any other sites, these give an indication of the level of enthusiasm and dedication to broadcasting local news world-wide. The county web site is at leitrim.gaa.ie.  This site has links to web sites dedicated to the exploits and shenanigans at Aughavas, Bornacoola, Carrigallen, Cloone, Eslin, Fenagh-St. Caillins, Glenfarne, Melvin Gaels. Gortletteragh and Kiltubrid.  These sites are a credit to all concerned.  Leitrim GAA results are also available on www.hoganstand.com/leitrim.

Other sports sites include Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys soccer information at www.sligoleitrimyouths.ie and Ballinamore Golf Club at www.ballinamore.com. Angling is well catered for: information for the northern Shannon is set out on www.shannon-fishery-board.ie/uppershannon-coarsemap.htm; www.infowing.ie/Fishing/Leit2FR.htm has lots of information on a per lake basis.  The Lough Allen area is also covered by www.allen.ie

The best Leitrim sites for tourists to Leitrim are www.leitrimtourism.com and www.countyleitrim.com.  Both offer good links to the usual tourist activities, heritage sites, outdoor pursuits and of course accommodation.  Most of the hotels in the county have their own dedicated websites, as indeed do many restaurants and all of the companies renting cruisers.

Lots of towns have dedicated web sites, some created in a fit of enthusiasm and abandoned, others tended lovingly by their creators and driven by a passion to inform and communicate. Well, something is driving them since none are making any money from their initiative.  Possibly the most visually appealing of the town sites is Ballinamore’s: homepage.tinet.ie/~ballinamore. Others include:

The Cavan & Leitrim Railway operation at Dromod is at travel.to/dromod.  Indeed, if of a cold winter’s night you feel like recreating a C&LR wagon, a kit is available from www.worsleyworks.freeserve.co.uk/Review_CandL.htm.  The Joe Mooney Summer School has its own site at www.iol.ie/~nwoods/.

The businesses that appear to be embracing the web with the most zeal are the auctioneers. Almost all are represented on the net (and are listed on www.mohill.com ). The same is true for Hotels and Bed & Breakfast establishments.

Leitrim is developing a well-deserved reputation as a locus for the visual arts.  Visual Leitrim and the Leitrim Design House promote the work of over 45 craftspeople and are at www.leitrimdesignhouse.com.  Artwood design and make furniture in Drumshanbo - www.artwood.ie.  Celtic Mythology artifacts are sold at www.shee-eire.com (based in Ballinamore); also selling to a worldwide audience are www.celtic-gifts.com in Ballinamore.

Bringing Leitrim music to the outside world is the McNamara Family of Aughavas (mcnamara.irish-music.net); bringing music to the pubs of Ireland are Lyric Ireland Ltd., based in Ballinamore - www.lyric.ie.  If you want to record music, try Orbital Works recording studios in Ballinamore - www.orbitalworks.net.  The Glens Centre, Manorhamilton is at homepage.eircom.net/~nlgdc.

A favourite bookshop, Trinity Rare Books is at indigo.ie/~nickk/ where Nick can help you to find a rare (or even not so rare) book.  The Organic Centre (www.theorganiccentre.ie) has been providing training, information and demonstrations of organic gardening, growing and farming since 1995. They also have an on-line seed catalogue.  On a similar philosophy but different product, Páiste Sásta (www.paistesasta.ie) supplies Natural Nappy Products and is based in Mohill.

Even dogs are represented on the net: the Pentacula Kennels at irishtoydogs.com breed pedigree Cavalier King Charles and Bichon Frise dogs.

And if you want to use Leitrim’s three miles of coastline, Power Source surfboards in Kinlough can build you a surfboard: www.powersourcesurfboards.com.

Engineering companies include Newtowngore Engineering (homepage.eircom.net/~johnmccartin) and Elastometall based in Manorhamilton (www.elastometall.ie). Jetwash Ltd. of Carrigallen are at www.jetwash.ie .

If you are a business person and all this is making you think about going on the web but you don’t know how to go about it, the following people may be able to help: Samhain Design in Gorvagh - www.samhaindesign.com; Websmiths in Roosky - www.websmiths.ie; and E23 in Carrick-on-Shannon - www.e23.ie.

Non-commercial sites include the Fermanagh and Leitrim Community Online Network which has good links to charitable, community and health resources in the county - www.falcon.ie. Voluntary groups include the Sligo/Leitrim Mountain Rescue Team www.sligomountainrescue.homestead.com and Community Action Northwest at www.can.ie/can/leitrim. Overseas, the Leitrim Society of Boston (leitrimsociety.tripod.com) is keeping the flame alive.  The Leitrim Camera Club can be found at: http://www.allen.ie/photography.

Some schools have on-line presences.  Perhaps the best of these is Kinlough Four Masters N.S. at homepage.eircom.net/~fmasters . Others include Drumshanbo V.S. homepage.tinet.ie/~drumvs, Drumeela (homepage.eircom.net/~drumeela ) and Carrigallen (homepage.eircom.net/~vscallen/index1.html).

Rich personal pages include Ian Gallagher’s from Arigna who has lots of stuff on Showbands www.iangallagher.com/), Andy McGovern from Aughavas homepage.eircom.net/~andymcg, and Gabrielle and J. Michael on the Sligo/Leitrim border www.esatclear.ie/~theborderhouse/tbh.html.

If after reading this you have an urge to visit the sites but don’t have a computer at home, remember you can see all of them at your nearest internet café.  And if you’re physically in Leitrim, call into Gartlan’s in Carrick-on-Shannon where you can surf the internet by the hour – homepages.iol.ie/~gartlan/cyberc. For those of you with computers and access to the internet, a copy of this article and all the links can be found at www.mohill.com/leitrimlinks - it will save you typing in all of the addresses on your computer.

Finally, if you’re ever embarrassed by not knowing all the words of Lovely Leitrim (or indeed because you know them), you’ll find them at www.prof.co.uk/irish/lyrics/lovely_leitrim.htm.

Beir Bua.

Michael Slevin  www.mohill.com  

     

All content © mohill.com 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.