Sights in Ireland
-
A
Cathedral
The biggest building at Clonmacnoise, the cathedral was originally built in AD 909, but was significantly altered and remodelled over the centuries. Its most interesting feature is the intricate 15th-century Gothic doorway with carvings of Sts Francis, Patrick and Dominic. A whisper carries from one side of the door to the other, and this feature was supposedly used by lepers to confess their sins without infecting the priests.
The last high kings of Tara – Turlough Mór O'Connor (died 1156) and his son Ruairí (Rory; died 1198) – are said to be buried near the altar.
reviewed
-
Cathedral
The 11th-century cathedral at Kilfenora was once an important place of pilgrimage. St Fachan (or Fachtna) founded the monastery here in the 6th century, and it later became the seat of Kilfenora diocese, the smallest in the country. Loop around the more recent protestant church and you can enter the oldest part of the ruins, which have a stoic charm. The chancel has two primitive carved figures on top of two tombs.
reviewed
-
Castle Espie Wildfowl & Wetlands Centre
The Castle Espie reserve is a haven for huge flocks of geese, ducks and swans – around 30,000 light-bellied brent geese (75% of the world's population) spend the winter here – and is a paradise for fledgling ornithologists.
The new visitor centre is a showcase for sustainable development, and the landscaped grounds are dotted with hides for observing waders and waterfowl, as well as the centre's important collection of duck and goose species from all over the world. The best times to visit are in May and June, when the grounds are overrun with goslings, ducklings and cygnets, and October, when the vast flocks of brent geese begin to arrive from Arctic Canada.
The centre…
reviewed
-
Cashel Heritage Town Centre Museum
Located in the town hall next to the tourist office; displays include a scale model of Cashel in the 1640s.
reviewed
-
Carrickmacross Lace Gallery
In the town's former cattle yards, a local cooperative runs this tiny but fascinating lace gallery, where you can see lace-making demonstrations and check out exquisite designs. Unlike Clones' crocheted lace, designs here are appliquéd on organza using thick thread and close stitches. Excess organza is cut away and the work is embellished with a variety of point stitches, guipure, pops and the lace's distinctive loop edge. Most famously, Carrickmacross lace graced the sleeves of Princess Diana's wedding dress. Carrickmacross' lace makers can take commissions.
reviewed
-
Carrickfergus Museum
The glass-fronted Heritage Plaza on Antrim St houses the local museum, which has a small collection of artefacts relating to the town's history, and a pleasant coffee shop.
reviewed
-
Carlow County Museum
The musty, fusty displays of old are, well, history. This new incarnation of the local museum focuses on the lives of people in the county through the ages. It's thoroughly engaging. Look for ancient treasures, which were often uncovered through the generations by Carlow's toiling farmers. The museum is housed within the solid grey stone walls of an old convent. The museum got a refit in 2011 with pricing and hours not decided at the time of research.
reviewed
-
Canals
The Newry Canal runs parallel to the river through the town centre, and is a focus for the city's redevelopment. A cycle path runs 30km north to Portadown, following the route of the canal.
Newry Ship Canal runs 6km south towards Carlingford Lough, where the Victoria Lock has been restored to working order as part of a long-term project to reopen the whole canal to leisure traffic. Designed by Sir John Rennie, the civil engineer who designed Waterloo, Southwark and London bridges in London, the ship canal allowed large, sea-going vessels to reach Albert Basin in the centre of Newry.
reviewed
-
Cahir Castle
Cahir's awesome castle is feudal fantasy in a big way, with a river-island site with moat, rocky foundations, massive walls, turrets and towers, defences and dungeons. Founded by Conor O'Brien in 1142. this castle is one of Ireland's largest. It was passed to the Butler family in 1375. In 1599 it lost the arms race of its day when the Earl of Essex used cannons to shatter the walls, an event explained with a huge model.
The castle was surrendered to Cromwell in 1650 without a struggle; its future usefulness may have discouraged the usual Cromwellian 'deconstruction' – it is largely intact and still formidable. It was restored in the 1840s and again in the 1960s when it…
reviewed
-
Burren Centre
The centre has a series of entertaining and informative displays on many aspects of the Burren past and present. Stone-age mannequins look on the verge of frostbite. There's a cafe and a very large shop that sells local products.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Square and hulking Bunratty Castle is only the latest of several constructions to occupy its location beside the River Ratty. Vikings founded a settlement here in the 10th century, and other occupants included the Norman Thomas de Clare in the 1270s. The present structure was put up in the early 1400s by the energetic MacNamara family, falling shortly thereafter to the O'Briens, kings of Thomond, in whose possession it remained until the 17th century.
Fully restored, the castle is loaded with 14th- to 17th-century furniture, paintings and wall hangings.
The folk park adjoins the castle. It is a reconstructed traditional Irish village with cottages, a forge and working…
reviewed
-
Buncrana Castle
At the side of the keep is the manorlike Buncrana Castle, built in 1718 by John Vaughan, who also constructed the bridge. Wolfe Tone was imprisoned here following the unsuccessful French invasion in 1798.
reviewed
-
B
Bull Ring
Originally a beach where provisions were boated into the city, the Bull Ring became a centre for bull baiting in medieval times: the town's butchers gained their guild charter by providing a bull each year for the sport. The Lone Pikeman statue commemorates the participants in the 1798 Rising, who used the place as an open-air armaments factory.
reviewed
-
Brian Ború Heritage Centre
Named for the local boy who made good as the king who, according to the political spinmeisters of his time, both unified Ireland and freed it from the Viking scourge. The centre does much to celebrate the legends and has good displays about the nautical heritage of this patchwork of lakes and rivers.
reviewed
-
Boyle Abbey
Gracing the River Boyle is the finely preserved (and reputedly haunted) Boyle Abbey. Founded in 1161 by monks from Mellifont in County Louth, the abbey captures the transition from Romanesque to Gothic style, best seen in the nave, where a set of arches in each style face each other. Unusually for a Cistercian building, figures and carved animals decorate the capitals to the west. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey was occupied by the military and became Boyle Castle; the stone chimney on the southern side of the abbey, which was once the refectory, dates from that period.
Guided 40-minute tours of the abbey are available on the hour until 5pm.
reviewed
-
C
Bonamargy Friary
Just east of town are the ruins of Bonamargy Friary, founded in 1485. It's an attractive site to explore, but sadly the vault – which contains the tombs of MacDonnell chieftains, including Sorley Boy MacDonnell of Dunluce Castle – is not open to the public.
reviewed
-
Blue Pool Ferry
From a little cove near the centre of the village.
reviewed
-
Blennerville Windmill & Visitor Centre
Blennerville, just over 1km southwest of central Tralee on the N86 to Dingle, used to be the city's chief port, though the harbour has long since silted in. A 19th-century flour windmill here has been restored and is the largest working mill in Ireland and Britain. Its modern visitor centre houses an exhibition on grain-milling, and on the thousands of emigrants who boarded 'coffin ships' from what was then Kerry's largest embarkation point. There's also a database of the Irish émigrés who flocked to America. Admission includes a 30-minute guided tour of the windmill.
reviewed
-
D
Bishop's Palace
This interactive museum detailing Waterford's long history is in the newly renovated Bishop's Palace (1741). It has dazzling displays covering Waterford's history from 1700 to 1970 and includes treasures from the city's collection, such as golden Viking brooches, jewel-encrusted Norman crosses and 18th-century church silver.
reviewed
-
Belvedere House & Gardens
Don't miss magnificent Belvedere House, an immense 18th-century hunting lodge set in 65 hectares of gardens overlooking Lough Ennell. More than a few skeletons have come out of Belvedere's closets: the first earl, Lord Belfield, accused his wife and younger brother Arthur of adultery. She was placed under house arrest here for 30 years, and Arthur was jailed in London for the rest of his life. Meanwhile, the earl lived a life of decadence and debauchery. On his death, his wife emerged dressed in the fashion of three decades earlier, still protesting her innocence.
Lord Belfield also found time to fall out with his other brother, George, who built a home nearby. Ireland's…
reviewed
Advertisement
-
Bell Tower
All that remains of the 13th-century Franciscan friary the town grew up around is an ancient bell tower, next to the grave of 17th-century rebel leader Owen Roe O'Neill in Abbey St's cemetery.
reviewed
-
Beaches
The wide, sandy and virtually empty Killahoey Beach leads right into the heart of Dunfanaghy village. Marble Hill Beach, about 3km east of town in Port-na-Blagh, is more secluded but usually crammed in summer. Reaching Dunfanaghy's loveliest spot, Tramore Beach, requires hiking 20 minutes through the grassy dunes immediately south of the village.
reviewed
-
Banquet Hall
North of the churchyard is Tara's most unusual feature, a rectangular earthwork measuring 230m by 27m along a north–south axis. Tradition holds that it was built to cater for thousands of guests during feasts. Much of this information comes from the 12th-century Book of Leinster and the Yellow Book of Lecan, which even includes drawings of the hall.
Opinions vary as to the site's real purpose. Its orientation suggests that it was a sunken entrance to Tara, leading directly to the Royal Enclosure. More recent research, however, has uncovered graves within the compound, and it's possible that the banks are in fact the burial sites of some of the kings of Tara.
reviewed
-
Ballyquin Beach
Tide pools, fascinating rocks and sheltered sand are just some of the appeals of this beautiful beach. It's 1km off the R673 4km northeast of Ardmore. Look for the small sign.
reviewed
-
Athlone Castle
The ancient river ford at Athlone was an important crossroads on the Shannon and was the cause of many squabbles over the centuries. By 1210, the Normans had asserted their power and built a castle here. In 1690 the Jacobite town survived a siege by Protestant forces, but it fell a year later – under a devastating bombardment of 12,000 cannonballs – to William of Orange's troops. The castle was soon remodelled and further major alterations took place over the following centuries.
At the time of writing the imposing and well-preserved castle and its visitor centre were closed for refurbishment. Both should reopen in summer 2012.
reviewed