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Marshs Library
This magnificently preserved scholars library, virtually unchanged in three centuries, is one of Dublins most beautiful open secrets, and an absolute highlight of any visit. Atop its ancient stairs are beautiful, dark-oak bookcases, each topped with elaborately carved and gilded ga
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Medieval Museum
Housed in a stunning modern building which incorporates several medieval buildings and part of the city wall in its basement (all on display), this museum documents Waterfords medieval history in glowing detail. The highlights of the collection are the extraordinary 15th-century cl
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St Declans Monastery
The ruins of Irelands oldest Christian settlement occupy a striking setting on a hill above the town, strewn with gravestones both ancient and new. The most prominent landmark is the 30m-high round tower , one of the best examples in Ireland. But the most remarkable is the roofless
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House of Waterford Crystal
This large modern complex combines a retail shop and cafe with a factory offering a tour that shows how world-famous Waterford crystal is produced. The highlight is the blowing room where you can watch skilled artisans transform blobs of red-hot molten glass into delicate crystalwa
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Ilnacullin (Garinish Island)
This horticultural miracle of an island was created in the early 20th century when the islands owner commissioned architect Harold Peto to design a garden on the then-barren outcrop. Topsoil was shipped in, landscaped gardens laid out, and subtropical species planted; camellias, ma
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Ennis Friary
North of the Square this friary was founded by Donnchadh Cairbreach OBrien, a king of Thomond, between 1240 and 1249. A mix of structures dating between the 13th and 19th centuries, the friary has a graceful five-section window dating from the late 13th century, a McMahon tomb (146
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Kilruddery House & Gardens
A stunning mansion in the Elizabethan Revival style, Killruddery has been home to the Brabazon family (earls of Meath) since 1618 and has one of the oldest gardens in Ireland. The house is impressive, but the prizewinner here is the magnificent orangery, built in 1852 and chock-ful
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Donegal Castle
Guarding a picturesque bend of the River Eske, Donegal Castle remains an imperious monument to both Irish and English might. Dating to the 15th century, the castle was rebuilt in 1623 by Sir Basil Brooke, along with the adjacent three-storey Jacobean house. Further restoration in t
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Altamont Gardens
One of Irelands most magnificent landscaped gardens, Altamont covers 16 hectares on the banks of the River Slaney, with carefully selected plantings arranged in naturalistic settings where peacocks, swans, squirrels and wild hare abound, surrounding an ornamental water-lily lake. T
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Hunt Museum
Although named for its benefactors, this museum is also a treasure hunt. Visitors are encouraged to open drawers and otherwise poke around the finest collection of Bronze Age, Iron Age, medieval and modern art treasures outside Dublin. Highlights include a Syracusan coin thought to
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Connemara National Park
Immediately southeast of Letterfrack, Connemara National Park spans 2000 dramatic hectares of bog, mountain and heath. The visitor centre is in a beautiful setting off a parking area 300m south of the Letterfrack crossroads.The visitor centre offers an introduction to the parks flo
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Yeats Grave
Yeats was long believed to be buried next to the doorway of the Protestant church, but recent evidence suggests that the bones shipped here from France in 1948 were not his at all, owing to the actual bones being scattered about an ossuary during the chaos of WWII. Yeats youthful b
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Cahir Castle
Cahirs awesome castle enjoys a river-island site with moat, massive walls, turrets and keep, stalwart defences, mullioned windows, vast fireplaces and dungeons. Founded by Conor OBrien in 1142, its one of Irelands largest castles, passing to the Butler family in 1375. In 1599 the E
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Banbas Crown
On the northernmost tip of Malin Head, called Banbas Crown, stands a cumbersome 1805 clifftop tower that was built by the British admiralty and later used as a Lloyds signal station. Around it are concrete huts that were used by the Irish army in WWII as lookout posts. To the west
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Belvedere House & Gardens
Dont miss magnificent Belvedere House, 5.5km south of Mullingar. This immense 18th-century hunting lodge is set in 65 hectares of gardens overlooking Lough Ennell. Designed by Richard Cassels, it contains delicate rococo plasterwork in the upper rooms. The gardens, with their Victo
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Kells Priory
This fortified Augustinian monastery is the best sort of ruin, where you can amble about whenever you like, with no tour guides, set hours or fees. Most days you stand a chance of exploring the site alone (apart from some nosy sheep); at dusk with a clear sky the old priory is simp
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Millmount Museum & Tower
Overlooking Drogheda, Millmount is an artificial hill that may have been a prehistoric burial ground like Newgrange, but has never been excavated.The Normans constructed a motte-and-bailey fort on top of this convenient command post overlooking the bridge. It was followed by a cast
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Long Room
Trinitys greatest treasures are kept in the Old Librarys stunning 65m Long Room, which houses about 200,000 of the librarys oldest volumes, including the Book of Kells , a breathtaking, illuminated manuscript of the four Gospels of the New Testament, created around AD 800 by monks
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Kilmainham Gaol
If you have any desire to understand Irish history – especially the juicy bits about resistance to British rule – then a visit to this former prison is an absolute must. This threatening grey building, built between 1792 and 1795, played a role in virtually every act of Irelands pa
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Museum of Natural History
Dusty, weird and utterly compelling, this window into Victorian times has barely changed since Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone opened it in 1857 – before disappearing into the African jungle for a meeting with Henry Stanley. It is a beautifully preserved example of Victorian
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