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Our Yeats Tour "Day 1" begins with a visit to the Yeats Building.
It is a home of the Yeats Society and Art Gallery.
It houses a Yeats' exhibition full of photographs, letters, manuscripts,
historical editions of works by all members of the Irish Revival, and other
documents that pertain to not only Yeats' family, but also to the
Gore-Booths, Maud Gonne, Lady Gregory & J. M. Synge. To new
students of Yeats, the exhibit offers an excellent, in-depth historical and
cultural introduction to Yeats' life and times. It is also a great overview
of the next two days, as we begin to tour some of the greatest sites in
this part of the world that inspired some of the greatest early poems of W.
B. Yeats..
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 The sculpture of Yeats' head
and  
photo displays that capture various stages of Yeats'
life, work and associations.
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  Across the bridge from the Yeats'
Building there is a Yeats' statue covered with words from his
poems... We pause at the statue to try to decipher words and identify
some of the lines.
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Outside
Sligo, on the first Yeats' Day, we travel around Lough Gill   and make numerous
stops in places that have literary and cultural relevance, such as a great
spot with the view on the famous lake isle of Innisfree, the Tobernalt
Holy Well, Slish Wood Forest, Dooney Rock, Parkes
Castle, and Hazelwood. We also take a cruise around the lake--a
relaxing hour of spectacular views and uniquely Irish tales & commentary
on the sites we pass.
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In spite of the undertones of kitschiness, the site is quite spectacular in its
layout and tranquility.
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Click to look closer at this
picture:  some people hang small items on
the branches (chains, pieces of cloth, etc.) to solicit supernatural
protection. I left a shoe string there and, after hearing from Debbie
that leaning against the ancient stone altar cures ailments, I faithfully
applied my back to the stone (with Bliss by my side, leaning on her newly
operated-on shoulder) . If Debbie chuckled, Bliss and I are healed, thank
you very much.
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Among my favourite places on Lough Gill is Slish Wood
Forest 
(the Sleuth Wood of "The Stolen
Child"), where the mid-May foliage offers great insights into young
Yeats' fascination with the dimness and glimmering and shimmering of light
and the half-light...
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  Parke's Castle on the Lough Gill--we saw a great
program about the Castle and the region's history and took a guided tour of
this beautifully restored site--look right →
  Our guide was
informative and very funny, though his witticisms were bound to the
content--the more you know about Irish history and culture, the more you
appreciate the cutting wit of many Irish guides.
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