In 1917, W B Yeats found this evocative 'ivy-covered tower', conveniently close to his friend and patron Lady Gregory, who lived at Coole Park. Thoor Ballylee was a fortified residence built by the Anglo-Norman de Burgo family during the 14th century. Yeats is a name...
Men with great wealth are inclined to indulge in expensive playhouses, and the Gothic Revival Charleville Forest outside the tiny distillery town of Tullamore, County Offaly, is one of the finest of its kind in Europe. It was built by renowned architect Francis Johnston in...
Many Irish towns and villages reveal their Georgian origins in wide streets, but Strokestown's is certainly exceptional. Originally modelled on Vienna's Ringstrasse, which had greatly impressed one of the local landowners, it is said to be the widest provincial main street in Ireland. The village...
A short distance east of Boyle lies the Lough Key Forest Park, part of the Rockingham estate, an enormous demesne which once belonged to the King family (Edward King, drowned in the Irish sea in 1636, was the subject of Milton's elegiac poem Lycidas). Rockingham...
Steeped in history, Strabane is a vibrant town with a lot to offer tourists and locals alike. Strategically located on the border between counties Tyrone and Donegal, the town is placed in an area of outstanding beauty. The area has been inhabited from as far back...
Despite its tragic sounding name, reminiscent of battle grounds from Ireland's turbulent history, the Bloody Foreland (Cnoc Fola) is a beauty spot which earned its title from the ruby and flame hues reflected from its granite cliffs, especially vibrant at sunset when the colour bleeds...
On a tour of Ireland with Ireland Luxury Tours we try and find hidden gems like Clonmacnoise for you to enjoy. These extensive and impressive monastic remains stand in velvety, emerald water-meadows by a rushy bend in the River Shannon, a place of almost tangible stillness,...
Ilnacullin, the Italian Gardens on Garinish Island, are reminiscent of a Maxfield Parrish fantasy, hardly what you would expect in rural Cork, though the conical hills in the background may suggest a lesser Mount Olympus. However, such 'follies' or architectural fantasies are not uncommon in...
This remarkable circular fortress lies about 14km south of Buncrana, perched on a hilltop and reached by a small winding lane. Aerial photographs of itshow the stone ring-fort in an emerald pool of grassland amid scrubby trufts of brownish heather and gorse. The name means...
This collection of monastic remains is one of the most important in Ireland. Coach parties ,on tours of Ireland, visit it from Dublin. The visitors have generated a host of souvenir shops, pubs and cafes in the local villages. Move away from this, however,and Ireland Luxury Tours...