Must-see attractions in County Galway

Horse breeding, carriages, the colourful racing industry and the horse’s role in Irish history are covered at Dartfield, which is set in extensive…

The pillar-like Turoe Stone is covered in delicate relief carvings in La Tène style (a Roman-influenced Celtic art form dating from the Iron Age)…

The sunken remains of the church here are said to have been the site of St Enda's Monastery in the 6th century, though what's visible dates from the 9th…

On Leenane's main street, just north of the bridge, sits a compelling little museum dedicated to sheep and wool. It has spinning and weaving…

At the village's southern edge, you can watch Malachy Kearns, Ireland's only full-time maker of traditional bodhráns, handcrafting goat-skin drums in his…

The tumbling waters of these low, wide waterfalls are framed by a series of rapids and pools, where you're likely to see salmon fishers trying their luck…

Glorious views of Inishmaan's limestone valleys and maze of stone walls extend from this ruined elliptical stone fort, which sits on the island's highest…

On these hour-long tours you'll get a real sense of the skill and sheer hard work that goes into producing Connemara's famous oysters. Then try your hand…

Now a small museum, this 300-year-old thatched cottage, on the road just before you head up to Dún Chonchúir, is where the writer JM Synge (1871–1909)…

Built in 1939, this small church has beautiful stained-glass windows designed by the studio of Harry Clarke and an altar by James Pearse (the father of…

Along the island's low-lying northern coast, the sheltered little bay of Port Chorrúch is home to up to 80 grey seals, who sun themselves and feed in the…

Atop the island's highest point, at 100m, historic fort Dún Eochla has a double ring of circular walls, and is thought to date from the early medieval era…

The well-preserved ruins of this stone fort are 200m west of the Cill Cheannannach church ruins; the fort similarly dates from around the 8th century.

Inisheer's large community arts centre sits out on an exposed stretch of the northern side of the island and hosts visiting artist events, cultural…

Book in advance to see the amazing herding feats performed by the sheepdogs on this working farm. From Leenane, it's 14km east: take the R336 and turn on…

Crescent-shaped Kilmurvey Beach has a Blue Flag for its clean white sand and pristine waters. Lifeguards patrol it in July and August, and often in June.

Upstream from Salmon Weir Bridge, which crosses the River Corrib just east of Galway Cathedral, the river cascades down the great weir, one of its final…

Once home of Lady Augusta Gregory, cofounder of Dublin's Abbey Theatre and a patron of WB Yeats, the house here was demolished by bureaucrats in 1941…

Crowned by a pyramidal spire, the Collegiate Church of St Nicholas of Myra is Ireland's largest medieval parish church still in use. Completed by 1320, it…

James Lynch Fitzstephen was the mayor and magistrate of Galway in 1493. So the story goes, when his son was condemned for the murder of a romantic rival…