LITTLE MUSEUM OF
DUBLIN: An eclectic
collection of objects
conveying the social
history of Dublin and
Ireland. Here you will find
a Ryanair business class
ticket, proving that not all
the weird history is from
aeons ago.
NEWGRANGE: This
postcard attraction of Stone
Age Ireland is the world’s
most ancient engineered
site. It caught the dawn
rays of the solstice sun
for 500 years before the
oldest of the pyramids was
built. Nowadays, access is
restricted to the ancient
mound but a nearby visitor centre recreates the experience.
NATIONAL MUSEUMS:
Ireland boasts three of them:
the Treasury at the National
Museum of Ireland, in Dublin
city centre, is dedicated
to Ancient Irish Art, often
worked in gold and silver;
Collins Barracks houses
temporary exhibitions; and
the Folklore Collection is in
Mayo. The Natural History Museum has been described as a
museum that should be in a museum.
ROCK OF CASHEL: You
won’t get a better sense of
medieval Ireland – where
bishop and prince clung
to power for 1,000 years
and lived jowel by jowel
– than atop the ‘rock’ that
watches over the flat, rich
plains of Tipperary. Nearby,
the interpretative Brú Ború
cultural centre gives a terrific summary of Irish history.
ST MICHAN’S: Few people
visit because there is so
little room. Call up and
get a parishioner to give
you a tour of the vaults
where you can meet some
ancient mummified remains,
including an incongruously
tall gentleman who fought
in the Crusades. It may
be Dublin’s best attraction of all, although amongst the least
visited.
SLIEVE LEAGUE: These cliffs
are even higher than those
at Moher, but limited access
hampered the number of
visitors to Donegal’s famous
cliff tops… until now. A visitor
centre is planned.
TITANIC CENTRE: This
distinctive and stunning white
building sits on the site of
the former Harland & Wolff
shipyard, in the city’s Titanic
Quarter. It was designed as
architectural waves to reflect
its ill-fated subject. Here you
can check out the actual cabin
sizes used by the passengers…
even First class would not cut it with today’s cruise customers. The
nearby riverside has an ever-growing number of restaurants and
cool places to hang out.
KYLEMORE ABBEY: This park
and magnificent faux-castle
are rather popular with the
French. The banner from the
Battle of Ramillies hangs in
the front hall.
Ireland’s top twenty visitor attractions by visitor numbers:
1 Guinness Storehouse 1,491,536; 2 Cliffs of Moher 1,242,576; 3 Dublin Zoo 1,130,720; 4 National Aquatic Centre
996,249; 5 Giant’s Causeway Centre 827,400; 6 Tayto Park, Ashbourne 765,000; 7 Book of Kells 761,057; 8 National
Gallery 735,547; 9 Titanic Centre 684,720; 10 Botanic Gardens Glasnevin 552,785; 11 National Museum, Kildare St
469,494; 12 St Patrick’s Cathedral 466,423; 13 Ulster Museum 456,680; 14 Fota Wildlife Park, Cork 433,620; 15 Science
Gallery 411,052; 16 Rock of Cashel, Tipperary 409,753; 17 Farmleigh 402,773; 18 Blarney Castle 390,000; 19 Number 29
370,000; 20 Chester Beatty Library, Dublin 355,680.
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