Sights in Ireland
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Falls Road Republican Murals
The first republican murals appeared in 1981, when the hunger strike at the Maze prison saw the emergence of dozens of murals supporting the hunger strikers. In later years republican muralists broadened their scope to cover wider political issues, Irish legends and historical events. After the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the murals came to demand police reform and the protection of nationalists from sectarian attacks.
Common images seen in republican murals include the phoenix rising from the flames (symbolising Ireland reborn from the flames of the 1916 Easter Rising), the face of hunger striker Bobby Sands, and scenes and figures from Irish mythology. Common…
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Guinness Storehouse
; St James's) The most popular visit in town is the beer-lover's Disneyland, a multimedia bells-and-whistles homage to the country's most famous export and the city's most enduring symbol. The old grain storehouse, the only part of the massive, 26-hectare St James's Gate Brewery open to the public, is a suitable cathedral in which to worship the black gold; shaped like a giant pint of Guinness, it rises seven impressive storeys high around a stunning central atrium. At the top is the head, represented by the Gravity Bar, with a panoramic view of Dublin.
From the time Arthur Guinness (1725–1803) founded the brewery in 1759, the operation has expanded down to the Liffey and…
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St Stephen's Green
As you watch the assorted groups of friends, lovers and individuals escaping the confines of the office, splaying themselves across the nine elegantly landscaped hectares of St Stephen’s Green and looking to catch a few rays of precious sun, consider that those same hectares once formed a common for public whippings, burnings and hanging. These days, the harshest treatment you’ll get at Dublin’s favourite lunchtime escape is the warden chucking you off the green for playing football or Frisbee.
The buildings around the square date mainly from the mid-18th century, when the green was landscaped and became the centrepiece of Georgian Dublin. The northern side was…
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Cave Hill
The best way to get a feel for Belfast's natural setting is to view it from above. In the absence of a private aircraft, head for Cave Hill (368m) which looms over the northern fringes of the city. The view from its summit takes in the whole sprawl of the city, the docks and the creeping fingers of urbanisation along the shores of Belfast Lough. On a clear day you can even spot Scotland lurking on the horizon.
The hill was originally called Ben Madigan, after the 9th-century Ulster king, Matudhain. Its distinctive, craggy profile, seen from the south, has been known to locals for two centuries as 'Napoleon's Nose' - it supposedly bears some resemblance to Bonaparte's…
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Old Library
To the south of the square is the Old Library, built in a rather severe style by Thomas Burgh between 1712 and 1732. Despite Ireland’s independence, the Library Act of 1801 still entitles Trinity College Library, along with four libraries in Britain, to a free copy of every book published in the UK. Housing this bounty requires nearly another 1km of shelving every year and the collection amounts to around 4.5 million books. Of course, these cannot all be kept at the college library, so there are now additional library storage facilities dotted around Dublin.
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Newgrange
From the surface, Newgrange is a somewhat disappointing flattened, grass-covered mound, about 80m in diameter and 13m high. Underneath, however, lies the finest Stone Age passage tomb in Ireland and one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites in Europe. It dates from around 3200 BC, predating the great pyramids of Egypt by some six centuries. The purpose for which it was constructed remains uncertain. It may have been a burial place for kings or a centre for ritual – although the alignment with the sun at the time of the winter solstice also suggests it was designed to act as a calendar. The name Newgrange derives from ‘new granary’ (the tomb did in fact serve as a…
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Rock of Cashel
The Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland's most spectacular archaeological sites. The 'Rock' is a prominent green hill, banded with limestone outcrops. It rises from a grassy plain on the edge of the town and bristles with ancient fortifications – the word 'cashel' is an anglicised version of the Irish word caiseal, meaning 'fortress'. Sturdy walls circle an enclosure that contains a complete round tower, a 13th century Gothic cathedral and the finest 12th-century Romanesque chapel in Ireland. For more than 1000 years the Rock of Cashel was a symbol of power and the seat of kings and churchmen who ruled over the region. In the 4th century the Rock of Cashel was chosen as a…
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Kilkenny Castle
Rising above the Nore, Kilkenny Castle is one of Ireland's most visited heritage sites. The first structure on this strategic site was a wooden tower built in 1172 by Richard de Clare, the Anglo-Norman conqueror of Ireland better known as Strongbow. In 1192, Strongbow's son-in-law, William Marshall, erected a stone castle with four towers, three of which survive. The castle was bought by the powerful Butler family in 1391, and their descendants continued to live there until 1935. Maintaining such a structure became a big financial strain and most of the furnishings were sold at auction. The castle was handed over to the city in 1967 for the princely sum of £50.
One glance…
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Dublin Castle
The centre of British power in Ireland for most of 800 years, Dublin Castle sits atop Cork Hill, behind City Hall. It was originally built on the orders of King John in 1204, but it’s more higgledy-piggledy palace than castle. Only the Record Tower, completed in 1258, survives from the original Norman construction. Parts of the castle’s foundations remain and a visit to the excavations is the most interesting part of the castle tour. The moats, now completely covered by more modern developments, were once filled by the River Poddle. The castle is also home to one of Dublin’s best museums, the Chester Beatty Library.
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Trinity College
On a summer’s evening, when the bustling crowds have gone for the day, there’s hardly a more delightful place in Dublin than the grounds of Ireland’s most prestigious university, a masterpiece of architecture and landscaping beautifully preserved in Georgian aspic. Not only is it Dublin’s most attractive bit of historical real estate, but it’s also home to one of the world’s most famous – and most beautiful – books, the gloriously illuminated Book of Kells. There is no charge to wander around the gardens on your own between 8am and 10pm.
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Christ Church Cathedral
Its hilltop location and eye-catching flying buttresses make this the most photogenic by far of Dublin's three cathedrals as well as one of the capital's most recognisable symbols.
It was founded in 1030 on what was then the southern edge of Dublin's Viking settlement. It was later smack in the middle of medieval Dublin: Dublin Castle, the Tholsel (Town Hall; demolished in 1809) and the original Four Courts (demolished in 1796) were all close by. Nearby, on Back Lane, is the only remaining guildhall in Dublin. The 1706 Tailors Hall was due for demolition in the 1960s, but survived to become the office of An Taisce (National Trust for Ireland).
The original wooden church in…
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St Patrick's Cathedral
It was at this cathedral, reputedly, that St Paddy himself dunked the Irish heathens into the waters of a well, so the church that bears his name stands on one of the earliest Christian sites in the city and a pretty sacred piece of turf. Although there's been a church here since the 5th century, the present building dates from 1190 or 1225 (opinions differ) and it has been altered several times, most notably in 1864 when the flying buttresses were added, thanks to the neo-Gothic craze that swept the nation. St Patrick's Park, the expanse of green beside the cathedral, was a crowded slum until it was cleared and its residents evicted in the early 20th century.
Like Christ…
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Chester Beatty Library
The world-famous library, in the grounds of Dublin Castle, houses the collection of mining engineer Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875–1968), bequeathed to the Irish State on his death. And we're immensely grateful for Chester's patronage: spread over two floors, the breathtaking collection includes more than 20,000 manuscripts, rare books, miniature paintings, clay tablets, costumes and other objects of artistic, historical and aesthetic importance. The library runs tours at 1pm on Wednesdays and at 3pm and 4pm on Sundays.
The Artistic Traditions Gallery on the 1st floor begins with memorabilia from Beatty's life, before embarking on an exploration of the art of Mughal…
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Museum of Free Derry
The Museum of Free Derry, just off Rossville St, chronicles the history of the Bogside, the civil rights movement and the events of Bloody Sunday through photographs, newspaper reports, film clips and the accounts of first-hand witnesses, including some of the original photographs which inspired the murals of the People's Gallery.
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Kylemore Abbey
A few kilometres east of Letterfrack stands Kylemore Abbey. Magnificently situated on the shores of a lake, this crenulated 19th-century neo-Gothic fantasy was built for a wealthy English businessman, Mitchell Henry, who spent his honeymoon in Connemara. His wife died tragically young.
Admission also covers the abbey's Victorian walled gardens. You can stroll around the lake and surrounding woods for free.
Kylemore's tranquillity is shattered in high summer with the arrival of dozens of tour coaches per day, each one followed through the gates by an average of 50 cars (yes, over 2500 cars a day).
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Kilmainham Gaol
If you have any desire to understand Irish history – especially the juicy bits about resistance to English rule – then a visit to this former prison is an absolute must. This threatening grey building, built between 1792 and 1795, has played a role in virtually every act of Ireland's painful path to independence.
The uprisings of 1798, 1803, 1848, 1867 and 1916 ended with the leaders' confinement here. Robert Emmet, Thomas Francis Meagher, Charles Stewart Parnell and the 1916 Easter Rising leaders were all visitors, but it was the executions in 1916 that most deeply etched the jail's name into the Irish consciousness. Of the 15 executions that took place between 3 May…
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Blarney Castle
Dating from 1446, Blarney Castle is a tower house built on solid limestone in wonderful grounds that are ideal for a picnic. Someone will soon talk you into kissing the Blarney Stone, a custom invented fairly recently, though Blarney's association with the gift of the gab goes back a long time.
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Bloody Sunday Memorial
A simple granite obelisk that commemorates the 14 civilians who were shot dead by the British Army on 30 January 1972. Bloody Sunday tragically echoed Dublin's Bloody Sunday of November 1920. Derry's Bloody Sunday was a turning point in the history of the Troubles. On Sunday 30 January 1972, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association organised a peaceful march through Derry in protest against internment without trial, which had been introduced by the British government the previous year.
Some 15,000 people marched from Creggan through the Bogside towards the Guildhall, but were stopped by British Army barricades at the junction of William and Rossville Sts. The main…
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National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History
No wonder the British army were so reluctant to pull out of Ireland, when they were occupying this magnificent space, the oldest army barracks in Europe. The building – the museum bit can wait – was completed in 1704 according to the design of Thomas Burgh, whose CV also includes the Old Library in Trinity College and St Michan’s Church. Its central square held six entire regiments and is a truly awesome space, surrounded by arcaded colonnades and blocks linked by walking bridges. Following the handover to the new Irish government in 1922, the barracks was renamed to honour Michael Collins, a hero of the struggle for independence, who was killed that year in the…
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Spanish Arch & Medieval Walls
Framing the river east of Wolfe Tone Bridge, the Spanish Arch is thought to be an extension of Galway's medieval walls. The arch appears to have been designed as a passageway through which ships entered the city to unload goods, such as wine and brandy from Spain.
Today it reverberates to the beat of bongo drums, and the lawns and riverside form a gathering place for locals and visitors on any sunny day. Many watch kayakers manoeuvre over the minor rapids of the River Corrib.
Although a 1651 drawing of Galway clearly shows its extensive fortifications, depredation by Cromwell and William of Orange and subsequent centuries of neglect saw the walls almost completely…
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Peace Line
There are steel gates that mark the beginning of the so-called Peace Line, the 6m-high wall of corrugated steel, concrete and chain link that has divided the Protestant and Catholic communities of West Belfast for almost 40 years. Begun in 1970 as a 'temporary measure', it has now outlasted the Berlin Wall, and zigzags for some 4km from the Westlink to the lower slopes of Black Mountain. These days the gates in the wall remain open during the day, but most are still closed from 17:00 to 08:00.
There are now more than 20 such barriers in Belfast, and a total of more than 40 throughout Northern Ireland, the most visible sign of the divisions that have scarred the province…
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National 1798 Rebellion Centre
A visit here before climbing Vinegar Hill greatly enhances its impact. The centre's exhibits cover the French and American revolutions that sparked Wexford's abortive uprising against British rule in Ireland, before chronicling what was one of the most bloodthirsty battles of the 1798 Rebellion, and a turning point in the struggle. A month later, English troops attacked and forced the rebels to retreat, massacring hundreds of women and children in the 'follow-up' operation. Interactive displays include a chessboard with pieces representing key figures in the Rising, and a multiscreen recreation of the finale atop a virtual Vinegar Hill. From Abbey Sq walk out of town…
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Hore Abbey
Cashel throws in another bonus for the heritage lover. This is the formidable ruin of 13th-century Hore Abbey (also known as Hoare Abbey or St Mary's). Originally Benedictine and settled by monks from Glastonbury in England at the end of the 12th century, it later became a Cistercian house. Enjoyably gloomy, it was gifted to the order by a 13th-century archbishop who expelled the Benedictine monks after dreaming that they planned to murder him.
The abbey is just under 1km north of the Rock in flat farmland.
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Dunbrody Heritage Ship
Emigrants’ sorrowful yet often-inspiring stories are brought to life by actors during a 30-minute tour of the Dunbrody Heritage Ship, a full-scale replica 1845 Famine ship (also known as a ‘coffin ship’, due to the number of passengers who didn’t survive the journey). Prior to the tour, a 10-minute film gives you background on the original three-masted barque and the construction of the new one. Admission includes access to the onsite database of Irish emigration to America from 1845 to 1875, containing over two million records.
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Fry Model Railway
Ireland’s biggest model railway is 240 sq metres, and authentically displays much of Ireland’s rail and public transport system, including the DART line and Irish Sea ferry services, in O-gauge (32mm track width). A separate room features model trains and other memorabilia. Unfortunately the operators suffer from the overseriousness of some grown men with complicated toys; rather than let you simply look and admire, they herd you into the control room in groups for demonstrations.
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