Lough Gill

At the same parking lot as Castle Leitrim is the Rose of Innisfree, an excursion boat that takes us out on a cruise around Lough Gill, where the Island of Innisfree is.  Yeats wrote about being tired of the city, arising and going to the Isle of Innisfree, but he wrote it while in London in later years, probably remembering with rose colored memory another, larger island on the Lough that contained a house inhabited by a lady friend.  The excursion boat takes us around the lake, past Innisfree island, which is small and minimally interesting, but also past some larger islands, one containing the ruins of a church, and the other, more likely island of his memory.

The captain of the boat is an elderly gentleman steeped in the poetry of Yeats, and he recites as we steer around the islands and enjoy sandwiches, tea, and coffee on board.  Although there is a full bar, all are grateful for hot tea and coffee.  Our captain insists on audience participation, encouraging us to add the final word of some lines of poetry, which becomes a merry touchstone in later days of the tour.  He loses his place and repeats himself a few times, both in his narrations and his recitations.

Some hardy souls go topside in the cool breeze after lunch to enjoy an unobstructed view.