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…
Must-see attractions in Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
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…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
This fortified Augustinian monastery is the best sort of ruin, where you can amble around whenever you like, with no tour guides, set hours or fees. Most…
County Waterford
The ruins of Ireland's oldest Christian settlement occupy a striking setting on a hill above Ardmore, strewn with gravestones both ancient and new. The…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
One of Ireland's most magnificent landscaped gardens, Altamont covers 16 hectares on the banks of the River Slaney. Carefully selected plantings are…
County Waterford
Housed in a stunning modern structure that incorporates several medieval buildings and part of the city wall in its basement (all on display), this museum…
County Waterford
This large modern complex combines a retail shop and cafe with a factory offering a 90-minute tour that shows how world-famous Waterford crystal is…
County Waterford
Although Lismore Castle itself is not open to the public, the 3 hectares of ornate and manicured gardens are well worth a visit. Thought to be the oldest…
County Wexford
On its southern tip, Hook Head is capped by the world's oldest working lighthouse, with a modern light flashing atop a 13th-century tower. Access is by…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
One of Ireland’s finest Cistercian ruins, Jerpoint Abbey was established in the 12th century, with the tower and cloister dating from the late 14th or…
County Wexford
Parading peacocks guard the splendid 19th-century Johnstown Castle, the former home of the once-mighty Fitzgerald and Esmonde families (the estate was…
Kilkenny City
Dating from the early 13th century, St Mary's Church has been converted into a fascinating modern museum that charts the history of Kilkenny in medieval…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
This important monastic site, founded in the 7th century by St Moling, was the burial place of the Kings of Leinster. Its remains include four church…
County Wexford
Called 'coffin ships' due to their fatality rate, the leaky, smelly boats that hauled a generation of Irish emigrants to America are reimagined on board…
County Wexford
Soft white sand, gentle surf and lack of development are the big draws of the 11km-long, Blue Flag–rated Curracloe Beach. Families flock here on sunny…
County Wexford
Tucked behind Courtown harbour, 35km northeast of Enniscorthy off the M11, this volunteer-run centre rescues orphaned, lost and injured seals and…
County Waterford
Ireland's oldest complete building and the first to use mortar, 13th-century Reginald's Tower, the city's key fortification, is an outstanding example of…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
Dunmore Cave is as famous for its history as for its beautiful calcite formations, and has yielded many archaeological treasures. Admission is via a…
County Wexford
Tintern Abbey is named after its Welsh counterpart, from where its first monks hailed. The atmospheric remains of the abbey enjoy a lovely setting amid 40…
County Wexford
Once the haunt of privateers, smugglers and ‘dyvers pyrates’, the Saltee Islands now have a peaceful existence as one of Europe’s most important bird…
Kilkenny City
Dating from 1594, this is Ireland's finest example of a Tudor merchant's house, complete with a restored medieval garden. Built around a series of…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
The core of Huntington Castle is a spooky, dusty old tower house built in 1625 by Sir Laurence Esmonde, now surrounded by Georgian terraces and…
County Waterford
Inscribed on Unesco's World Heritage list in 2004, this 20km stretch of rugged coastline, centred on the village of Bunmahon, takes its name from the…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
The grounds of the former Wandesforde estate, whose owners grew rich from exploitation of the land's underlying coal deposits, now form a family-oriented…
National 1798 Rebellion Centre
County Wexford
This exhibition does a fine job of explaining the background to one of Ireland's pivotal historical events. It covers the French and American revolutions,…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
Water from Ballykeefe's 80m-deep limestone aquifer is used to make whiskey, gin, vodka and poitín at this rural distillery, whose farm grows its own…
County Wexford
This stout, four-towered keep was originally built by the Normans; like much else in these parts, it was surrendered to Cromwell in 1649. During the 1798…
Wexford Town
Over 9000 years of Irish history are squeezed together at this open-air museum 5.5km west of the town centre. After a short audiovisual presentation, take…
County Waterford
William Thackeray commented on the prettiness of the edifice of Lismore's 17th-century cathedral in 1842 after visiting, and that was before the addition…
National Design & Craft Gallery
Kilkenny City
Contemporary Irish crafts are showcased at the imaginative National Design & Craft Gallery, set in former stables across the road from Kilkenny Castle,…
County Wexford
Situated 3.5km northeast of Hook Head, this crumbling manor house gazes across Waterford Harbour to Dunmore East. Dating from the 1600s and rebuilt in the…
Ballyteigue Burrow Nature Reserve
County Wexford
The beach and sand dunes of Ballyteigue Burrow Nature Reserve stretch for 9km northwest from Kilmore Quay, covering 227 hectares in all. It's the summer…
Wexford Town
After Henry II murdered his former ally Thomas Becket, he did penance at Selskar Abbey, founded in 1190. Basilia, the sister of Richard Fitz Gilbert de…
Counties Wexford, Waterford, Carlow & Kilkenny
Jerpoint Park is a working farm on the site of a 12th-century medieval town, where 35-minute guided tours (10.30am and 2.30pm) use cutting-edge…
County Waterford
The 10-sq-km Curraghmore Estate has belonged to the family of Lord and Lady Waterford since the 12th century. Its lavish gardens incorporate the whimsical…
Wexford Town
An abandoned 20th-century shopping mall was transformed in 2018 into this innovative arts centre. Its former shops are now home to more than 25 artists,…
County Waterford
One of Ireland's most striking architectural follies sits 3.5km northwest of Lismore in woodland that was once the demesne of Arthur Keily-Ussher, a harsh…
Kilkenny City
Until its closure, Smithwick's was Ireland’s oldest working brewery. John Smithwick founded the business in 1710 on the site of Kilkenny's 13th-century St…
County Waterford
The Dromana Drive from Cappoquin to Villierstown, 9km to the south, follows the Blackwater valley through the Dromana Estate. At a bridge over the River…
County Wexford
Lady's Island Lake encloses Our Lady's Island, the site of an early Augustinian priory, which still has an annual pilgrimage in August/September. Pilgrims…
