Ireland360
Ireland’s history goes back over 5,000 years, and much of it is still standing. Many of the best sites are in Ireland’s Ancient East, within two hours of Dublin.
Neolithic Ireland
Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange and Knowth) in the Boyne Valley is older than Stonehenge and the pyramids. At the winter solstice, sunlight floods the chamber. Entry is by guided tour from the visitor centre only. The Loughcrew cairns are quieter and on hilltops. In the west, Carrowmore in Sligo and the Céide Fields in Mayo show how early farmers lived.
Royal sites
The Hill of Tara was the seat of the High Kings. It’s free and open all year.
Monastic Ireland
Glendalough in Wicklow and Clonmacnoise on the Shannon were great monastic cities, with round towers and high crosses. The Rock of Cashel rises dramatically over the Tipperary plain. Jerpoint Abbey in Kilkenny has some of the finest medieval carvings in Ireland. Skellig Michael, off Kerry, is the most remote and the most spectacular of all.
No car? Newgrange, Glendalough, and Cashel are all on day tours from Dublin, and boat trips run to Clonmacnoise from Athlone.
