Ireland may be a relatively small island, but it has a long and rich history, and has no shortage of places to visit.
What Kind of Places Are You Looking For?
Some Highlights
Towns and Cities
- Dublin city is Ireland’s main visitor arrival point, and is where one quarter of Ireland’s population live
- Cork is Ireland’s second largest city and is sometimes called the Rebel City
- Galway is another popular city with visitors, especially those seeking the more a laid-back slice of Irish culture.
- Belfast is popular for its recent troubled political history, now visitor attractions, such as the Belfast Wall murals
- Derry is Northern Ireland’s second city, and has many popular attractions, such as the Guildhall
Somewhat less well-known but highly recommended cities and towns include
Irish Castles
Ireland is famous for its castles. While there are hundreds of them throughout the country, the most well known are:
Ancient History
You’ll find many great specimens of ancient history, with megalithic sites such as the Hill of Tara and Newgrange, both of which are as old as the pyramids.
On the west coast, the burial monuments at Carrowmore, Sligo are also at least 5000 years old, while the Grianan Fort in Donegal was mentioned in Ptolemy’s 2nd Century map of the world.
Celtic Ireland
By 200BC, the island had become dominated by the Celts, and with them came the Bronze Age. Wonderful treasures such as the Ardagh chalice and the Tara Brooch can be seen in the National Museum in Dublin.
By the middle ages, Ireland had become known as the land of saints and scholars. The Book of Kells, on display at Trinity College Dublin, is a beautifully hand-decorated manuscript of the four Gospels in Latin, dating from the sixth century.
In every county of Ireland, you will find examples of Celtic structures such as ring forts and crannogs (wooden houses built on islands). At the Cragaunowen Project in Co. Clare, the Celtic way of life is reconstructed as an open-air museum.