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…
Must-see attractions in County Kerry
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…
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…
Killarney National Park
Lakeside Ross Castle dates to the 15th century, when it was a residence of the O'Donoghue family. The entertaining 45-minute guided tour combines an…
Derrynane National Historic Park
Ring of Kerry
Derrynane House was the home of Maurice 'Hunting Cap' O'Connell, a notorious local smuggler who grew rich on trade with France and Spain. He was the uncle…
Killarney National Park
This impressive Victorian mansion is crammed with fascinating objects (70% of the contents are original). Portraits by John Singer Sargent adorn the walls…
Killarney National Park
Dating from the early 18th century, Killarney House was once part of a much larger residence that was later demolished; it was restored in 2016 and now…
Dingle Peninsula
Gallarus Oratory is one of Ireland's most beautiful ancient buildings, its smoothly constructed dry-stone walls in the shape of an upturned boat. It has…
Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula's most important Christian site, Kilmalkedar has a beautiful setting with sweeping views over Smerwick Harbour. Built in the 12th…
Killarney National Park
Signposted 1.5km northeast of Muckross House, this well-preserved ruin (actually a friary, though everyone calls it an abbey) was founded in 1448 and…
Skellig Ring
The sea and salty air are eating away at the atmospheric ruins of this medieval priory, a monastic settlement that was probably built by the Skellig…
Dingle Peninsula
The Blasket Islands (Na Blascaodaí), 5km offshore, are the most westerly part of Ireland. At 6km by 1.2km, Great Blasket (An Blascaod Mór) is the largest…
Ring of Kerry
Some 3km northwest of Cahersiveen, two extraordinary stone ring forts situated 600m apart are reached from a shared parking area. Cahergal, the larger and…
Killarney National Park
The first monastery on Inisfallen (the largest of the islands in Lough Leane) was founded by St Finian the Leper in the 7th century. The extensive ruins…
Dingle Peninsula
This wonderful interpretative centre celebrates the rich cultural life of the now-abandoned Blasket Islands. It is housed in a striking modern building…
Ring of Kerry
Established in response to the Fenian Rising of 1867, the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks at Cahersiveen were built in an eccentric Bavarian-Schloss…
Skellig Ring
Valentia Island was chosen as the eastern terminus of the first transatlantic telegraph cable, from Heart's Content, Newfoundland. A monument at Telegraph…
Skellig Ring
Immediately across the bridge from Portmagee, this distinctive building with a turf-covered roof contains exhibitions on the life of the Skellig Michael…
Killarney National Park
These recreations of 1930s farms evoke authentic sights, sounds and smells – cow dung, hay, wet earth and peat smoke, and a cacophony of chickens, ducks,…
Glanteenassig Forest Recreation Area
Dingle Peninsula
Southeast of Castlegregory, these 450 hectares of forest, mountain, lake and bog are a magical, off-the-tourist-trail treasure. There are two lakes; you…
Dingle Peninsula
The remains of this 5th- or 6th-century monastic settlement are one of the peninsula's more evocative archaeological sites, with low stone walls among…
Skellig Ring
This string of small depressions in an exposed sandstone bedding surface next to the sea may not be as spectacular as dinosaur footprints, but these…
Skellig Ring
At the northern end of Ballinskelligs on the site of a village abandoned during the Famine, this contemporary art gallery with a circular, thatched roof…
Killarney National Park
The original Knockreer House, built for the Earl of Kenmare in the 1870s, burned down in 1913; the present house was built on the same site in 1958 and is…
Ring of Kerry
This museum recreates a 19th-century bog village, typical of the small communities that carved out a precarious living in the harsh environment of Ireland…
Skellig Ring
Built as a linen mill in the 1770s, this estate was transformed from 1808 when its owner established its 16-hectare gardens with exotic plants from around…
County Kerry
The Writers' Exhibition in this Georgian building celebrates Listowel's heritage of literary observers of Irish life. Rooms are devoted to local greats…
Dingle Peninsula
The 1845-built Famine Cottages (6km southwest of Ventry) were once the home of the Kavanagh family, and the primitive furnishings and cooking utensils…
Skellig Ring
Small Skellig is long, low and craggy: from a distance it looks as if it's shrouded in a swirling snowstorm. Close up you realise you're looking at a…
Skellig Ring
The local landowner has transformed the island's highest point, Geokaun (266m), into a network of easy walking trails and viewpoints, with a breathtaking…
Ring of Kerry
Derrynane's Blue Flag beach is one of the most beautiful in Kerry, with scalloped coves of golden sand set between grassy dunes and whaleback outcrops of…
Valentia Island Heritage Centre
Skellig Ring
Inside the old school on the road towards Geokaun Mountain, this intriguing local museum has a treasure trove of artefacts that tell the tale of the…
Dingle Peninsula
Set in a 19th-century schoolhouse, this local museum has displays on the history, geology, archaeology and ecology of the peninsula. It's in the centre of…
Kerry's Most Spectacular Cliffs
Skellig Ring
Its hyperbolic name – and recreated dry-stone clochán with fake birds perched on top – aside, the view is indeed spectacular from this privately owned…
Tarbert Bridewell Courthouse & Jail
County Kerry
If you're catching the ferry between Tarbert and County Clare, take time to visit the renovated Tarbert Bridewell Courthouse, which has exhibits …
Ring of Kerry
This Iron Age structure, built around AD 300 to 400, is one of the biggest and best-preserved ring forts in Ireland, with near-intact walls some 4m thick…
Dingle Peninsula
Fahan, on the roadside 7.5km southwest of Ventry, once had some 48 drystone clochán beehive huts dating from AD 500, although the exact dates are unknown…
County Kerry
Standing between the town square and the river, this 12th-century castle was once the stronghold of the Fitzmaurices, the Anglo-Norman lords of Kerry. It…
County Kerry
The Gap of Dunloe is a scenic valley squeezed between Purple Mountain and the eastern summits of MacGillicuddy's Reeks. In summer it can be a bottleneck…
