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Old Mellifont Abbey
In its Anglo-Norman prime, this abbey, 1.5km off the main Drogheda–Collon road (R168), was the Cistercians first and most magnificent centre in Ireland. Although the ruins are highly evocative and well worth exploring, they belie the sites former splendour. Mellifonts most recognis
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Leinster House
All the big decisions are made at the Oireachtas (parliament). This magnificent Palladian mansion was built as a city residence for James Fitzgerald, the Duke of Leinster and Earl of Kildare, by Richard Cassels between 1745 and 1748 – hence its name.Prearranged guided tours are ava
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Wicklows Historic Gaol
Wicklows infamous jail was renowned throughout Ireland for the brutality of its keepers and the harsh conditions suffered by its inmates. The smells, vicious beatings, shocking food and disease-ridden air have long since gone, but adults and children alike can experience a sanitise
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Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery
One of the largest Stone Age cemeteries in Europe, Carrowmore is finally receiving the renown it deserves and is Sligos must-see attraction.Some 60 monuments including stone circles, passage tombs and dolmens adorn the rolling hills of this haunting site, which is thought to predat
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Lough Key Forest Park
Sprinkled with small islands, Lough Key Forest Park has long been popular for its picturesque ruins, including a 12th-century abbey on tiny Trinity Island and a 19th-century castle on Castle Island. Its also a time-honoured favourite with families for its wishing chair, bog gardens
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Casino at Marino
Its not the roulette-wheel kind of casino but the original Italian kind, the one that means summer home (it literally means small house), and this particular casino is one of the most enchanting constructions in all of Ireland. Entrance is by guided tour only; the last tour is 45 m
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Royal Enclosure
South of Taras 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 under the soil. Inside are several smaller earthworks: the Mound of the Hostages (closed to the public); Royal Seat , a ring for
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Blarney Castle
If you need proof of the power of a good yarn, then join the queue to get into this 15th-century castle, one of Irelands most popular tourist attractions. Theyre here, of course, to plant their lips on the Blarney Stone , which supposedly gives one the gift of gab – a cliché that h
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St Audoens Church of Ireland
Two churches, side-by-side, each bearing the same name, a tribute to St Audoen, the 7th-century bishop of Rouen (aka Ouen) and patron saint of the Normans. They built the older of the two, the Church of Ireland, between 1181 and 1212, and today it is the only medieval church in Dub
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James Joyce Cultural Centre
Denis Maginni, the exuberant, flamboyant dance instructor and ‘confirmed bachelor’ immortalised by James Joyce in Ulysses, taught the finer points of dance out of this beautifully restored Georgian house, now a centre devoted to promoting and preserving the Joycean heritage. Inside
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St Michan’s Church
Macabre remains are the main attraction at this church, which was founded by the Danes in 1095 and named after one of their saints. Among the ‘attractions’ is an 800-year-old Norman crusader who was so tall that his feet were lopped off so he could fit in a coffin. Visits are by gu
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Irish Museum of Modern Art
Irelands most important collection of modern and contemporary Irish and international art is housed in the elegant, airy expanse of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, designed by Sir William Robinson and built between 1684 and 1687 as a retirement home for soldiers. It fulfilled this r
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Rathcroghan
Anyone with an interest in Celtic mythology will be enthralled by this area around the village of Tulsk. It contains 60 ancient national monuments including standing stones, barrows, huge cairns and monumental fortresses, making it the most important Celtic royal site in Europe.The
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Howth Castle
Most of the town backs onto the extensive grounds of Howth Castle, built in 1564 but much changed over the years, most recently in 1910 when Sir Edwin Lutyens gave it a modernist makeover. Today the castle is divided into four very posh and private residences; although the grounds
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Hill 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-Christian mythology. According to legend, St Patrick lit a paschal (Easter) fire here in 433 to proclaim Christianity throughout
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City Hall
One of the architectural triumphs of the Dublin boom was the magnificent restoration of City Hall (in 2000). It was originally built by Thomas Cooley as the Royal Exchange between 1769 and 1779, and botched in the mid-19th century when it became the offices of the local government.
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St Marys Abbey & Talbot Castle
Across the River Boyne from Trim Castle are the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian St Marys Abbey , rebuilt after a fire in 1368 and once home to a wooden statue of Our Lady of Trim, revered by the faithful for its miraculous powers.In 1415 part of the abbey was converted into a
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Skellig Michael
The jagged, 217m-high rock of Skellig Michael (Archangel Michaels Rock; like St Michaels Mount in Cornwall and Mont St Michel in Normandy) is the larger of the two Skellig Islands and a Unesco World Heritage site. Early Christian monks established a community and survived here from
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Glasnevin Cemetery
The tombstones at Irelands largest and most historically imortant burial site read like a whos who of Irish history, as most of the leading names of the last 150 years are buried here, including Daniel OConnell and Charles Stewart Parnell. It was established in 1832 by OConnell as
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Rotunda Hospital
Irish public hospitals aren’t usually attractions, but this one – founded in 1748 as the first maternity hospital in the British Isles – makes for an interesting walk-by or an unofficial wander inside if you’re interested in Victorian plasterwork. It shares its basic design with Le
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