The county capital, Carlow was once an outpost that had to provide its own defence as it was isolated from the Pale around Dublin, which the Anglo-Normans ruled and defended. Carlow developed around a massive Norman keep, built in 1207-13 to guard a strategic crossing...
Clackmannanshire Inviting Clackmannanshire has some great attractions that are worth a detour if you’re in the Stirling region. The tiny district is a top spot for day trips from the city of Stirling. Dollar About 11 miles east of Stirling, in the lower Ochil Hills, is the charming...
Kells/Ceanannus, County Meath One of the great centres of Celtic Christianity. where the Book of Kells may have been written and illustrated, this busy little crossroads today offers numerous reminders of its glorious past. Kells is also known as Ceanannus Mor. In AD 563, St Colmcille, also...
[caption id="attachment_5909" align="aligncenter" width="817"] Amhuinnsuidhe Castle, Harris, Scotland[/caption] Harris, to the south of Lewis, is the scenic jewel in the necklace of islands that comprise the Outer Hebrides, a spectacular blend of rugged mountains, pristine beaches, flower-speckled machair and barren rocky landscapes. The isthmus at Tarbert...
[caption id="attachment_5905" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Devenish Island[/caption] Northern Ireland has some of the most enchanting landscapes on the whole island - untouched by the strife that keeps the province in the news. From the rugged Atlantic-torn cliffs of Antrim in the north to the warm, wooded shores...
Island Of Saints And Scholars The coming of Christianity to Ireland in early 5th century was unlike its arrival any other country. Throughout much of the Roman Empire the religion was spread by and edict, imposed upon a conquered people by the occupying Roman administration. But...
The North Isles, Shetland Islands Unst Unst is a lot smaller but prettier than Yell with bare, velvety-smooth hills and clusters of settlements that cling to their waterside locations, fiercely resisting the buffeting winds, It also feels less isolated and has more of a community. With an...
Fortresses In Ireland At almost every turn in the Irish countryside there are remnants of ancient forts, some now reduced to mounds overgrown with grass, others the crumbling fragments of once-massive strongholds. The story they tell is of a harsh and often dangerous existence endured over...
From the high, subarctic plateau of the Cairngorms and the great, humpbacked hills of Monadhliath to the more rugged, rocky peaks of Glen Coe, the Mamores and Ben Nevis, the central mountain ranges of the Scottish Highlands are testimony to the sculpting power of ice...
Kilkenny, County Kilkenny Before the Normans came in the 12th century, Kilkenny’s houses clung to the 6th century monastery of St Canice and the settlement was the capital of Ossory, a sub-Kingdom of Leinster. But the strategic possibilities of the hilltop site where quickly grasped by...