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National Museum of Country Life
A celebration of the pluck of the Irish, this extensive and engrossing museum looks at rural traditions and skills. Overlooking a lake in the lush grounds of 19th-century Turlough Manor, this purpose-built facility is a branch of the National Museum of Ireland and explores everythi
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Vandeleur Walled Garden
This stunning lost garden was the private domain of the wealthy Vandeleur family – merchants and landowners who engaged in harsh evictions and forced emigration of local people in the 19th century. The gardens lie within a large walled forest just east of the centre and feature a c
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Dunguaire Castle
Erected around 1520 by the OHynes clan, Dunguaire Castle is widely believed to occupy the former site of the 6th-century royal palace of Guaire Aidhne, the king of Connaught. Lady Christabel Ampthill restored the castle after buying it for the equivalent of €500 and lived here fro
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Limerick City Gallery of Art
Limericks excellent gallery adjoins the peaceful Peoples Park, at the heart of Georgian Limerick. Among its permanent collection of traditional paintings from the last 300 years are works by Sean Keating and Jack B Yeats. Temporary exhibitions of conceptual and thought-provoking co
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Horn Head
The towering headland of Horn Head has some of the Wild Atlantic Ways most spectacular scenery, with dramatic quartzite cliffs, topped with bog and heather, rearing over 180m high. The narrow road from Dunfanaghy (4km) ends at a small parking area where you can walk 150m to a WWII
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Tobar Éinne
Locals still carry out a pilgrimage known as the Turas to the Well of Enda, an ever-burbling spring in a remote rocky expanse in the southwest. The ceremony involves, over the course of three consecutive Sundays, picking up seven stones from the ground nearby and walking around the
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Lismore Castle Gardens
Although Lismore Castle itself is not open to the public, the 3 hectares of ornate and manicured gardens are well worth a visit. Thought to be the oldest landscaped gardens in Ireland, they are divided into the walled Jacobean upper garden and the less formal lower garden, the latt
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Charles Fort
One of Europes best-preserved star-shaped artillery forts, this vast 17th-century fortification would be worth a visit for its spectacular views alone. But theres much more here: the 18th- and 19th-century ruins inside the walls make for some fascinating wandering. Its 3km southeas
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King Johns Castle
Carlingford was first settled by the Vikings, and in the Middle Ages became an English stronghold under the protection of the now-ruined castle, which was built on a pinnacle in the 11th to 12th centuries to control the entrance to the lough. King John spent a couple of days here i
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Hook Lighthouse
On its southern tip, Hook Head is capped by the worlds oldest working lighthouse, a modern light flashing atop a 13th-century tower. Access is by half-hour guided tour which includes a climb up the 115 steps for great views. The visitor centre has a good cafe while the grassy groun
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Aughnanure Castle
Built around 1500, this beautiful fortress 3km east of Oughterard was home to the Fighting OFlahertys, who controlled the region for hundreds of years after they fought off the Normans. The six-storey tower house stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking Lough Corrib and has been exten
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Emo Court
The unusual, green-domed Emo Court is an impressive house, designed in 1790 by James Gandon, architect of Dublins Custom House.The extensive grounds with their impressive Greek statues, contain more than 1000 different trees, including huge sequoias, and shrubs from all over the wo
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Jerpoint Abbey
One of Ireland’s finest Cistercian ruins, Jerpoint Abbey was established in the 12th century, with the tower and cloister dating from late 14th or early 15th century. It is famous for its unusually large number of medieval stone carvings – look for the series of unusual and often a
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Old Library
To the south of Library Sq is the Old Library, built in a severe style by Thomas Burgh between 1712 and 1732. It is one of five copyright libraries across Ireland and the UK, which means its entitled to a copy of every book published in these islands – around five million books, of
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Cobh, The Queenstown Story
The howl of the storm almost knocks you off-balance, theres a bit of fake vomit on the deck, and the people in the pictures all look pretty miserable – thats just one room at Cobh Heritage Centre. Housed in the old train station (next to the current station), this interactive museu
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Johnstown Castle Gardens
Parading peacocks guard the splendid 19th-century Johnstown Castle, the former home of the once-mighty Fitzgerald and Esmonde families (the estate was gifted to the nation in 1945). The empty castle (not open to public) is surrounded by 20 hectares of beautiful wooded gardens compl
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Spanish Arch
The Spanish Arch is thought to be an extension of Galways medieval city walls, designed to protect ships moored at the nearby quay while they unloaded goods from Spain, although it was partially destroyed by the tsunami that followed the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Today it reverberate
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Dún Aengus
Three spectacular prehistoric forts stand guard over Inishmór, each believed to be around 2000 years old. Chief among them is Dún Aengus, with three massive drystone walls that run right up to sheer drops to the ocean below. The fort is protected by remarkable chevaux de frise, fea
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Céide Fields
This otherwise barren site, 8km northwest of Ballycastle, is considered the worlds most extensive Stone Age monument. Stone-walled fields, houses and megalithic tombs – about half a million tonnes of stone – have been found so far, the legacy of a 5000-year-old farming community. T
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Athlone Castle
Inside this low and hulking castle that dates to the 13th century there are engaging and modern displays that bring to life the tumultuous history of the town. Entertaining exhibits detail life here through the ages. The highlight is the cacophonous Siege Experience which takes pla
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