Ireland’s largest inhabited island is located just off the coast from Ballycastle and only 13 miles from the Mull of Kintyre , Scotland. This strategic position has meant a turbulent history , and following settlement by monks it was the site of the first Viking...
This national treasure is kept on public display in the Long Room at Trinity College. It is a beautifully illuminated Latin text of the Gospels’ account of the life of Christ , and the most ornate of the Middle Age manuscripts to have survived. The exact...
Separating the inlets of Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly , this landmass encompasses some of the country’s finest scenery. From glorious Fahan beach to Malin Head , Ireland’s most Northerly point , and South to Muff it is largely unspoilt. Its centre is dominated by...
Sited on both sides of the Garavouge River, the settlement was given in 1235 to Maurice Fitzgerald , who built a castle here and founded a Dominican friary. In a period of 50 years during the 13th century both were destroyed five times , and later...
Ireland’s last hung woman , ‘Lady Betty’ , worked at the jail which still stands in the town centre. She had her own death sentence withdrawn on condition that she carried out all the public hangings without payment. Roscommon Castle , located off Castle Street ,...
This beautiful remote glen lies between the Galty mountains and Slievenamuck. Historically this was an important pass between the Golden Vale of County Tipperary and Limerick , and many battles were fought here between the O’Briens and rival clans. At the head of the valley...
This picturesque market town in the Blackwater Valley was a major ecclesiastical centre from the 7th to the 14th century. The 7th century monastery founded here by St. Carthach was renowned throughout Europe as a University. Lismore Castle was built by King John in 1185 on...
The River Shannon here divides the counties of Westmeath and Roscommon and the provinces of Leinster and Connacht. As it was a strategic crossing point there were frequent battles in the town, first between the Irish tribes and then with the Anglo-Normans. Bishop John de...
Trinity College was founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I to consolidate the Reformation through education. The restriction on Catholic students was abandoned in 1873 but the Roman Catholics church maintained its own ban until 1970 on its members being students. Today the majority of the 7000...
What is left of Dromana House is dramatically sited on a rocky escarpment overlooking the Blackwater estuary. It was built in the 17th and 18th centuries as an addition to a 15th century stronghold of the Fitzgeralds , badly damaged in the Civil War. Much...