Activities & Attractions

One of the most spectacular archaeological sites in Ireland. It sits on the outskirts of Cashel on a large mound of limestone bristling with ancient fortifications. Mighty stone walls encircle a complete round tower, a roofless abbey, a 12th century Romanesque chapel, and numerous other buildings and high crosses. The Rock of Cashel is composed four structures which are the Hall of the Vicars Choral, the cathedral, the round tower, and Cormac's Chapel. Hore Abbey is about one kilometre north at the base of the rock.

The impressive castle at Portumna was the seat of the Clanricarde Burkes, for so long the most important landowners in County Galway. It was completed c. 1617 by Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde, but was accidentally destroyed by fire in 1826. The Office of Public Works has been involved in its restoration in recent times.

This site represents a microcosm of Irish History. At one end we find the castle built in 1425 by the McNamara Clan, the history of this beautiful building stretches over 500 years of turbulence. However, it was the Vikings who first set up a trading post in Bunratty in 950. The castle was acquired by the Anglo Irish Studdart family in 1720. They lived in the castle until the 19th century when the abandoned the castle, and built Bunratty House which stands on a hill at the opposite end of the Folk Park. It was not until 1954 that lord Gort purchased the castle and retored it to its present condition. He also installed the finest collection of medieval furniture in the country, thereby preserving a vital part of the Celtic past and the heritage of Co. Clare. The Folk Park adjoins the castle and aims to show what everyday life was like in rural Ireland about 100 years ago. It contains reconstructed farmhouses, cottages and shops, and care has been taken to make them as authentic as possible, particularly with regard to furnishings. The Park is a living museum: animals are tended, bread is baked, milk is churned, walls are whitewashed and roofs are thatched. You may visit an Irish farmhouse, watch the blacksmith fit a horseshoe, attend a weaving demonstration, and bake and eat scones at the local teahouse. The village also reflects the fundamental changes that led to increased mobility.

Birr Castle, Co. Offaly Includes one of the most amazing gardens in the country with Formal Garden and River Garden. It is a parkland with thousands of rare trees and plants collected all over the world, rivers, a lake and waterfall. In the grounds is the Great Telescope, built by the third Earl of Rosse in the 1840s. It was the largest in the world for 70 years. The Historic Science Centre is a superb visit. It contains astronomical instruments, cameras, photographs and photographic equipment used by the third and fourth Earls and Mary, Countess of Rosse, in the middle and late 1800s.

Discovered by Jack McCann, a local farmer, in 1944, the 1000 feet long cave is one of the oldest of the Burren Caves having formed millions of years ago. Guided tours, lasting 30 minutes, allow you to observe beautiful caverns, bridged chasms, underground waterfalls, weird mineral formations and the hibernation chambers of brown bears which have been extinct in Ireland for centuries. Facilities include a restaurant, craft shop, information desk and outside, 'The Hazelwood' crafts village..