The Republic of Ireland’s second city is a town of commerce with a growing high-tech sector spearheaded by Apple, who have their European headquarters here. Cork is also a fresh-faced city as the home of the University College Cork, often touted as the best place to study in Ireland. Cork is only a few minutes …
A city on a grid plan, Limerick is Ireland’s third urban centre and the third strongest economy after Dublin and Cork. This bustling port on the Shannon Estuary fuelled a wave of construction in Georgian times, when the elegant Newtown Pery quarter was born. Earlier, in 1691, Limerick was where the Williamite War reached its …
Ireland‘s oldest city is at the head of the natural Waterford Harbour in the sunny southeast of the country. Waterford was founded by the Vikings at the start of the 10th century, and the city is still in touch with its Norse roots at the Viking Triangle, a cultural zone tallying with old city walls. …
A city streaked with canals on the Corrib River, Galway is affectionately called the “City of the Tribes”. That name recalls the 14 families that controlled trade and politics on Galway from the 13th to the 19th centuries. And what’s exciting is that there are still hints of the tribes to be found, like Lynch’s …
The capital of Ireland for short time in the 17th century, Kilkenny is a city with a long history. St Mary’s Cathedral in Kilkenny is the seat of the Diocese of Ossory, which lies within the same pre-Norman boundaries as the ancient Kingdom of Ossory, dating back 2,000 years. In the 12th century the Normans …
County Tipperary’s largest town, Clonmel is in the Suir River Valley, with the Comeragh Mountains and Slievenamon ever-present on the skyline. The town is known for its stout resistance to Oliver Cromwell in 1650 during his invasion of Ireland, inflicting big losses on his New Model Army, before negotiating a peaceful surrender. Later the town …
Drogheda, by the Boyne Estuary in East Ireland, is a town with captivating history in its backyard. The Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site is a complex of three massive passage tombs dating back as far as 5,200 years and loaded with enigmatic stone carvings. The tombs at Newgrange and Knowth can be visited on …
When the Dublin and Kingstown Railway arrived in Bray in 1854 this coastal town just 20 kilometres from Ireland’s capital became a seaside resort for Dubliners. Early on, Bray was planned as “Ireland’s Brighton” and the Victorian promenade and genteel front row of houses are holdovers from those early years of tourism. Intruding on this …
Dublin is a city rich in history and culture. Home to the famous Temple Bar and Molly Malone statue it’s easy to fall madly in love with the rustic charm of Ireland’s capital. With a whole host of famous landmarks and cultural sights to explore, a visit to Dublin surely keeps you on your toes. …
Rated Ireland’s “tidiest town” in 2015, Letterkenny is a bonny market town, close to where the River Swilly widens into a fjord on the northwest coast. Lough Swilly and the Fanad Peninsula are on Ireland’s fabled Wild Atlantic Way, for scenic drives to mountains, rugged promontories, Neolithic dolmens, early medieval hill-forts and martello towers armed …