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…
Must see attractions in County Meath
- Top ChoiceNewgrange
- Top ChoiceSlane Castle
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…
- Top ChoiceTayto Park
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,…
- TTop ChoiceTrim Castle
Proof of Trim's medieval importance, this remarkably preserved edifice was Ireland's largest Anglo-Norman fortification. Hugh de Lacy founded Trim Castle…
- KTop ChoiceKnowth
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…
- CTop ChoiceCairn T
At Carnbane East, Cairn T is 35m in diameter, with numerous carved stones. One of its outlying kerbstones, the Hag’s Chair, is covered in gouged holes,…
- BTop ChoiceBrú na Bóinne Visitor Centre
Built in a spiral design echoing Newgrange, this superb interpretive centre houses interactive exhibits on prehistoric Ireland and its passage tombs. It…
- SSlane Distillery
Triple-cask-matured whiskey made on-site at Slane Castle was first released in 2017. The castle's 18th-century horse stables are home to a visitor…
- Dunsany Castle
You can see how the other 1% lives at Dunsany Castle, 5km south of Tara on the Dunshaughlin–Kilmessan road. The residence of the lords of Dunsany, it's…
- SSt Mary's Abbey & Talbot Castle
Across the River Boyne from Trim Castle are the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian St Mary's Abbey, rebuilt after a fire in 1368 and once home to a…
- HHill of Slane
About 1km north of Slane village is the Hill of Slane, a fairly plain-looking mound that stands out only for its association with a thick slice of Celto…
- RRoyal Enclosure
South of Tara's church, the Royal Enclosure is a large oval Iron Age hill fort, 315m in diameter and surrounded by a bank and ditch cut through solid rock…
- DDowth
The circular mound at Dowth is similar in size to Newgrange – about 63m in diameter – but is slightly taller at 14m high. Due to safety issues, Dowth's…
- SSt Columba
The Protestant church of St Columba has a 30m-high 10th-century round tower on the southern side (today without its conical roof). In 1076 the high king…
- BBattle of the Boyne Site
More than 60,000 soldiers of the armies of King James II and King William III fought in 1690 on this patch of farmland on the border of Counties Meath and…
- LLoughcrew Megalithic Centre
Centred on a collection of thatched cottages, the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre encompasses a museum detailing the megalithic wonders hereabouts, as well as…
- LLoughcrew Gardens
Loughcrew Gardens incorporates 2.5 hectares of lawns, terraces and herbaceous borders along with a lime avenue, yew walk, canal and 'grotesque grotto'…
- FFourknocks Passage Tomb
Far from the beaten track, this extraordinary passage tomb dates from 3000 BC and, like Newgrange, is aligned with the winter solstice. The mound is 19m…
- RRath of the Synods
Tara's Protestant church grounds and graveyard spill onto the remains of this triple-ringed fort where some of St Patrick's early synods (meetings)…
- NNewgrange Farm
One for the kids, this hands-on, family-run 135-hectare working farm allows visitors to feed the ducks, lambs and goats, milk a cow, pet a rabbit and take…