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Culture & History

Abbeys, monastic sites, strongholds and living heritage.

Places

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Croagh Patrick near Murrisk, County Mayo, with the eroded path to the summit
Walk · Co. Mayo

Croagh Patrick

The 764-metre mountain near Murrisk, traditionally the place where St Patrick fasted — a broad, windswept summit and one of the great walking and pilgrimage places in the country.

Free to climb.· Allow 2–3 hours to the summit and back; 3–4 hours for the round.
Attraction · Co. Cork

Gougane Barra

A hillside hermitage above a small lake near Smerkistown on the Cork–Kerry border — the traditional home of St Finbarr, one of the oldest pilgrimage sites in the country, and a walk that is easy to find and hard to forget.

Free to visit.· Allow An hour up and down, plus time at the top
Kylemore Abbey beside Lough Corrib in County Mayo
Attraction · Co. Galway

Kylemore Abbey

A castle turned abbey on the shore of Kylemore Lough in Connemara, three kilometres from Letterfrack in Co. Galway — one of the most photographed buildings in the west of Ireland, with a story that goes back to the 1860s.

Gardens and castle ticketed; the abbey grounds are free to view from the shore.· Allow 2–3 hours
Skellig Michael, an island off the coast of County Kerry
Island · Co. Kerry

Skellig Michael

A small, steep island off the Iveragh Peninsula, home to an early Christian monastery of beehive huts — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the great places in the country.

Boat fare and a landing charge apply; check the current service for prices, the schedule and the booking requirements.· Allow A few hours for the visit.
The Blasket Islands off the south coast of the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry
Island · Co. Kerry

The Blasket Islands

Two small islands off the Dingle Peninsula, home to a community until 1953 — now a nature reserve and one of the most important seabird colonies in Europe.

Boat fare applies; check the current service for prices and the schedule.· Allow A few hours for the visit.
Area · Co. Clare

The Burren

A 15,000-hectare karst landscape in north Clare — a plain of limestone and dry stone walls, a UNESCO Global Geopark, and one of the great walking places in the country.

Free to walk.· Allow A half day for a short walk; a multi-day trip for the Burren Way.

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