Clifden

Clifden Castle, Connemara

The Ruins of Clifden Castle. It was built aroun 1810 by John D'Arcy, Clifden's founder.The D'Arcy family lived there for just 40 years. It fell into ruin in the early 1900s.

Courtesy of Edward and Jessica Adler and Aaron Mattfeld

Clifden Castle, Connemara
Courtesy of Edward and Jessica Adler and Aaron Mattfeld

Clifden Castle, Connemara

The Ruins of Clifden Castle. It was built aroun 1810 by John D'Arcy, Clifden's founder.The D'Arcy family lived there for just 40 years. It fell into ruin in the early 1900s.

Courtesy of Edward and Jessica Adler and Aaron Mattfeld

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In the early 1900s, the world's gaze was on Clifden, the biggest town in Connemara. It was the scene of two world firsts.

Clifden is not an old town. It was established in the early 1800s by the local landlord John D'Arcy. D'Arcy also built a castle, the ruins of which can still be seen.
 

On October 17, 1907, a very important event happened a few miles outside of Clifden.

The first commercial transatlantic message was transmitted from Guglielmo Marconi's Station in Clifden to his North American complex in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada.
 

John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown were British aviators who made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean in June 1919.
 

Alcock and Brown, Clifden

After making history as the first people to fly non-stop across the Atlantic, Alcock and Brown had a bumpy landing in a bog outside Clifden in Connemara.

Public Domain

Alcock and Brown, Clifden
Public Domain

Alcock and Brown, Clifden

After making history as the first people to fly non-stop across the Atlantic, Alcock and Brown had a bumpy landing in a bog outside Clifden in Connemara.

Public Domain

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The pair took off from St. John's, Newfoundland, on June 14, 1919. They crash landed in a bog outside Clifden 16 hours and 27 minutes after take off.

The flight was trecherous and nearly ended in disaster several times. Brown had to climb out onto the wings to remove ice which was building up on the engines. They were treated as heros for completing the challange and received a prize of £10,000.