Must-see attractions in Ireland

  • Newgrange Megalithic Passage Tomb

    Newgrange

    County Meath

    Newgrange is one of the most remarkable prehistoric sites in Europe, famous for the illumination of its passage and tomb during the winter solstice sun…

  • August 2019: A tour group on the floor of the Victorian main hall in the Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison which is now a museum. 

    Kilmainham Gaol

    Dublin

    If you have any desire to understand Irish history – especially the long-running resistance to British colonial rule – then a visit to this former prison…

  • DUBLIN, IRELAND - 10th June, 2017: the beautiful architecture of the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin city centre

    National Gallery

    Dublin

    A magnificent Caravaggio and a breathtaking collection of works by Jack B Yeats – William Butler Yeats' younger brother – are the main reasons to visit…

  • People at Slane Castle, Slane, Ireland

    Slane Castle

    County Meath

    Slane Castle is a 300-year-old sprawling estate on the banks of the River Boyne in County Meath.  The neo-gothic castle and grounds  are open to visitors…

  • DUBLIN, IRELAND - APR 1: The Guinness Storehouse Brewery at St. James Gate, Dublin Ireland on April 1, 2013.  Guinness brewery  was founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland, by Arthur Guinness.

    Guinness Storehouse

    Dublin

    The most popular attraction in Dublin is this multimedia homage to Guinness. An old fermentation plant in the St James's Gate Brewery has been converted…

  • Mossy and leafy forest floor in Slieve Bloom Mountains.

    Slieve Bloom Mountains Nature Reserve

    The Midlands

    A 2300-hectare nature reserve with a mountain range in the middle, full of walking and biking trails. A visit to Slieve Bloom is the perfect excuse to…

  • Stone wall at Dun Aonghasa Aran Islands

    Dún Aonghasa

    Aran Islands

    Dún Aonghasa is one of the largest prehistoric stone forts in Europe and stands guard over Inis Mór on the edge of a 100-metre sheer cliff drop.

  • St Patrick's Park, Dublin City, Ireland

    St Patrick's Cathedral

    Dublin

    Ireland's largest church and the final resting place of Jonathan Swift, St Patrick's stands on the spot where St Patrick himself reputedly baptised the…

  • A stag stands in front of a herd of deer under a beautiful summer sunset in Phoenix Park, Dublin, Ireland, on a grassy plain with clumps of trees in the distance

    Phoenix Park

    Dublin

    The hugely impressive 707 hectares that comprise Dublin's Phoenix Park are not just a magnificent playground for all kinds of sport—from running to polo…

  • Museum of Natural History

    Dublin

    Affectionately known as the 'Dead Zoo', this dusty, weird and utterly compelling museum is a fine example of the scientific wonderment of the Victorian…

  • Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin City, Ireland

    Christ Church Cathedral

    Temple Bar

    Its hilltop location and eye-catching flying buttresses make this the most photogenic of Dublin's three cathedrals, as well as one of the capital's most…

  • Tayto Park

    County Meath

    At Ireland’s only permanent theme park you can ride Europe's largest wooden inverted roller coaster, Cú Chulainn. Just 45 minutes from Dublin city center,…

  • View of Little Skellig from Skellig Michael

    Skellig Michael

    Skellig Ring

    The jagged, 217m-high rock of Skellig Michael (Michael's Rock; like St Michael's Mount in Cornwall and Mont St Michel in Normandy) is the larger of the…

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    Glendalough Monastic Site

    Glendalough

    Nestled between two lakes, haunting Glendalough (Gleann dá Loch, meaning 'Valley of the Two Lakes') is one of the most significant monastic sites in…

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    Killarney National Park

    County Kerry

    Sprawling over 10,236 hectares, this sublime park is an idyllic place to explore. Ross Castle and Muckross House draw big crowds, but it's possible to…

  • The monastery of Clonmacnoise is lighting golden in the evening sun.

    Clonmacnoise

    The Midlands

    Gloriously placed overlooking the River Shannon, 7km northeast of Shannonbridge, Clonmacnoise is one of Ireland’s most important ancient monastic cities…

  • Dun Briste

    County Mayo

    An astonishing sea stack that's lashed by foaming sea, Dun Briste is Mayo's top natural sight. Legend attests that St Patrick drove all the vipers from…

  • Corlea Trackway

    The Midlands

    Don't miss the extraordinary Corlea Trackway, an Iron Age bog road built in 148 BC. An 18m stretch of the pavement-like oak track has been preserved in a…

  • Lackan Strand

    County Mayo

    Lackan Bay's beach is a stunning and vast expanse of golden sand – it's particularly beautiful as the sun goes down, making it one of Ireland's most…

  • St canices cathedral round tower and churchyard

    St Canice's Cathedral

    Kilkenny City

    Ireland's second-largest medieval cathedral (after St Patrick's in Dublin) has a long and fascinating history. The first monastery was built here in the…

  • Moon over Kilkenny Castle

    Kilkenny Castle

    Kilkenny City

    Rising above the River Nore, Kilkenny Castle is one of Ireland's most visited heritage sites. Stronghold of the powerful Butler family, it has a history…

  • 1st August 2019, Drogheda, Ireland. The historic ruins of Monasterboice, an early Christian settlement near Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland.

    Monasterboice

    Counties Meath, Louth, Cavan & Monaghan

    Crowing ravens lend an eerie atmosphere to Monasterboice, an intriguing monastic site down a leafy lane in sweeping farmland, which contains a cemetery,…

  • Malin Head is located on the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland and is the most northerly point of the island of Ireland. A military watchtower was built at Banba's Crown in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars. Around 1902, a signal station was also built at Banba's Crown, quite close to the old Napoleonic watchtower. Both of these buildings still stand.

    Banba's Crown

    Inishowen Peninsula

    On the northernmost tip of Malin Head, called Banba's Crown, stands a cumbersome 1805 clifftop tower that was built by the British admiralty and later…

  • Birr Castle

    The Midlands

    It's easy to spend half a day exploring the attractions and gardens of Birr Castle demesne. The castle dates from 1620 and is a private home, but during…

  • Fore Valley

    The Midlands

    Near the shores of Lough Lene, the emerald-green Fore Valley, 5km east of Castlepollard, is a superb place to explore by bicycle or on foot. In AD 630 St…

  • Cork city jail.

    Cork City Gaol

    Cork City

    This imposing former prison is well worth a visit, if only to get a sense of how awful life was for prisoners a century ago. An audio tour (€2 extra)…

  • Donegal Castle in County Donegal.

    Donegal Castle

    County Donegal

    Guarding a picturesque bend of the River Eske, well-preserved 15th-century Donegal Castle is an imperious monument to Irish and English might. The castle…

  • Rathcroghan

    The Midlands

    Anyone with an interest in Celtic mythology will be enthralled by this area around the village of Tulsk. Containing 60 ancient national monuments,…

  • Shannon River with Thomond Bridge and King Johns Castle

    King John's Castle

    Limerick City

    An obdurate and brooding Norman mass looming over the River Shannon, Limerick's showpiece castle, with its vast curtain walls and towers, was built on the…

  • Aughnanure Castle, Galway, Ireland

    Aughnanure Castle

    Connemara

    The 'Fighting O'Flahertys' were based at this superbly preserved 16th-century fortress 4km east of Oughterard. The clan controlled the region for hundreds…

  • Charles Fort, Kinsale, Ireland

    Charles Fort

    Kinsale

    One of Europe's best-preserved star-shaped artillery forts, this vast 17th-century fortification would be worth a visit for its spectacular views alone…

  • Trim Castle

    County Meath

    Proof of Trim's medieval importance, this remarkably preserved edifice was Ireland's largest Anglo-Norman fortification. Hugh de Lacy founded Trim Castle…

  • Connemara National Park sunset

    Connemara National Park

    Connemara

    Immediately southeast of Letterfrack, Connemara National Park spans 2000 dramatic hectares of bog, mountains, heath and woodlands.

  • Galway, Ireland - June 17th 2005: Teenagers, some with backpacks, sitting on the bank of river Corrib, front the Galway City Museum.

    Galway City Museum

    Galway City

    Exhibits at this modern, three-floor museum engagingly convey the city's archaeological, political, cultural and social history. Look out for an iconic…

  • Sheep in a field by the coast at Horn Head near Dunfanaghy.

    Horn Head

    County Donegal

    The towering headland of Horn Head has some of the Wild Atlantic Way's most spectacular scenery, with dramatic quartzite cliffs, topped with bog and…

  • Kells Bay House & Gardens

    Ring of Kerry

    Opened in 1837 as a hunting lodge, this magnificent estate sprawls over 17 hectares incorporating a waterfall, beach and six different gardens, ranging…

  • English Market.

    English Market

    Cork City

    The English Market – so called because it was set up in 1788 by the Protestant or ‘English’ corporation that then controlled the city (there was once an…

  • Lough Key Forest Park

    The Midlands

    Sprinkled with small islands, the 350-hectare Lough Key Forest Park, 4km east of Boyle, shelters picturesque ruins including a 12th-century abbey on tiny…

  • Knowth

    County Meath

    Northwest of Newgrange, the burial mound of Knowth was built around the same time. It has the greatest collection of passage-grave art ever uncovered in…

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