List of tourist attractions in Ireland

The following list cites some of the most popular tourist attractions on the island of Ireland

Destinations by county

• Antrim
  • Antrim Coast and Glens
  • Ballycastle
  • Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland, second largest city on the island
    • City Hall
    • the murals in Falls Road, Sandy Row and Shankill Road
  • Carrickfergus Castle
  • Giant's Causeway, a geological phenomenon and a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • most of Lough Neagh, the island's largest lake, lies in Antrim.
  • Rathlin Island off the coast

• Armagh
  • Armagh city - ecclesiastical capital of all Ireland.
    • St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh - seat of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh.
    • Catholic St. Patrick's Cathedral, seat of the Archbishop of Armagh, primate of All Ireland

• Carlow
  • Brownshill Dolmen

• Clare
  • Bunratty Castle
  • The Burren, a karst landscape
  • Cliffs of Moher
  • Lisdoonvarna, spa town and site of a matchmaking festival in late summer and autumn

• Cork
  • Beara Peninsula
  • Blarney with its nearby Castle, home of the Blarney Stone
  • Cork City, second city of the Republic of Ireland
    • University campus (University College Cork)
    • St. Finbarre's Cathedral
    • Church of St Anne (Shandon)
    • English Market
  • Béal na mBláth, place where Michael Collins was shot dead
  • Kinsale
  • Mizen Head, southwesternmost point of Ireland
  • Youghal, a picturesque seaport town

• Donegal
  • Buncrana
  • Donegal town with Donegal Castle
  • Glenveagh National Park with Glenveagh Castle
  • Grianan of Aileach, historic monuments
  • Killybegs
  • Letterkenny
  • The Rosses
  • Slieve League

• Down
  • Downpatrick with the reputed gravesite of Saint Patrick in Down Cathedral
  • Mourne Mountains
  • Irish linen - Thomas Ferguson & Co Ltd the last remaining Irish linen Damask Factory

• Dublin City, largest city on the island, capital and cultural and economic centre of the Republic of Ireland
  • Dublin Castle - former seat of British rule, now a major Irish government complex.
  • Phoenix Park - "largest inner city park in the world"; within the park are Ashtown Castle and Dublin Zoo
  • Áras an Uachtaráin - residence of the President of Ireland, also within the Phoenix Park.
  • Government Buildings on Merrion Street
  • General Post Office building - headquarter of the 1916 Easter Rising rebels, on O'Connell Street, the main thoroughfare of Dublin's Northside.
  • National Gallery of Ireland, houses the Irish national collection of Irish and European art.
  • National Library of Ireland, has a large quantity of Irish historical, literary and Irish-related material.
  • Glasnevin Cemetery - burial location of Éamon de Valera, Michael Collins, Roger Casement, Seán T. O'Kelly:
    Daniel O'Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Timothy Healy
  • Irish National War Memorial Gardens, Islandbridge, Dublin, memorial to Irish war dead in First World War
  • Kilmainham Gaol, a former prison where, among others, most of the rebels of 1916 were held and executed; now used as a museum.
  • Four Courts, seat of the Supreme Court of Ireland
  • Garden of Remembrance Parnell Sq., Dublin, Republican memorial.
  • Irish National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin (Northside).
  • National Museum of Ireland for Archaeology (in Kildare St) and Decorative Art and History (in the former Collins Barracks)
  • St Mary's Pro-Cathedral - seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin.
  • Christ Church Cathedral - seat of Anglican Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin
  • St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland's "national cathedral"
  • St Stephen's Green, a landscaped inner-city centre public park in Dublin
  • Smithfield, Dublin, a culturally re-developing, increasingly "fashionable" area
  • Trinity College, Dublin (also called the University of Dublin) - Ireland's oldest university, founded by Queen Elizabeth I and home of the Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow. (The film Educating Rita was made on the campus.)
  • Georgian Dublin, view of eighteenth century streetscape of Dublin (e.g. Fitzwilliam Square, Merrion Square).
  • St. James's Gate Brewery
  • Old Jameson Distillery
  • St. Michan's Church
  • Ha'penny Bridge, a famous Victorian walker bridge spanning across the Liffey
  • Temple Bar, a mainly cobblestonequarter, directly on the Southern banks of the Liffey, popular for its cultural and nightlife spots.
  • Croke Park, one of Europe's largest stadiums, with the Museum of the Gaelic Athletic Association
  • Grand Canal and Royal Canal

• • Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
    • the panoramic southern Dublin Bay with the towns of Dalkey and Killiney
    • James Joyce Tower and Museum at Sandycove

• • Fingal
    • Howth and Howth Head
    • Malahide with the Norman Malahide Castle

• Fermanagh
  • Enniskillen Castle
  • Devenish Island
  • Lough Erne

• Galway
  • Aran Islands - Irish Gaeltacht, islands in Galway Bay.
  • Connemara - Irish Gaeltacht, a heathland area, with the Twelve Bens and the Maumturk Mountains.
  • Galway City, a lively university town (seat of the NUI Galway)
  • Lough Corrib, the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland.

• Kerry - Scenic rural county in the south west.
  • Dingle, main town of the idyllic Dingle Peninsula
  • Killarney - internationally renowned as the undisputed centre of tourism in the South West of Ireland .
  • Killarney National Park with the Killarney Lakes, the Muckross House and Gardens, Ross Castle, the Torc Waterfall
  • Macgillycuddy's Reeks on the Iveragh Peninsula, Ireland's highest mountains
  • the Ring of Kerry, a panoramic ring road around the Iveragh Peninsula passing through, among others, the village of Cahersiveen, the birthplace of Daniel O'Connell
  • Skellig Islands with the monastic site on Skellig Michael, a UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Tralee - the county town and home of the Rose of Tralee festival.
  • Valentia Island

• Kildare
  • Irish National Stud, National Horse stud with many famous horses, centre of Irish horse breeding
  • Kildare town with Kildare Cathedral on the site of an early Christian monastery founded by Saint Brigid
  • Maynooth, town on the Royal Canal, Catholic bishop seat, Maynooth Castle, Carton House, the campuses of St Patrick's College and of the NUI Maynooth.

• Kilkenny
  • Dunmore Cave - a show cave with many calcite formations and archaeological finds
  • Jerpoint Abbey near Thomastown
  • Kells Priory at Kells
  • Kilkenny City - one of Ireland's most exemplary medieval cities
    • Kilkenny Castle - meeting place of the Confederate Ireland government in the 1640s.
    • Rothe House
    • St Canice's Cathedral
    • St Mary's Cathedral

• Laois - "Queen's County"
  • Castle Durrow
  • Rock of Dunamase
  • Slieve Bloom mountains

• Limerick
  • Adare, "Ireland's most beautiful village" with Adare Manor, Desmond Castle, a Franciscan and a Trinitarian abbey
  • Castle Oliver
  • Limerick city - historic Irish city and home to the famous Munster rugby team and Thomond Park
    • King John's Castle - 13th century castle located on the medieval King's Island.
    • St. Mary's Cathedral - 12th century cathedral located on King's Island.
    • Hunt Museum - museum housing over 2000 artifacts from Ireland and abroad.
  • Lough Gur - ancient mesolithic human settlement site.

• Londonderry
  • City of Derry, only city in Ireland with intact city walls (therefore called the "Maiden City")
    • Bogside with, among numerous others, the murals at the Free Derry Corner

• Louth
  • Carlingford, one of Ireland's best preserved and most interesting mediaeval towns, on the edge of Carlingford Lough.
  • Drogheda, formerly Ireland's largest walled town (formed when two separate towns united in 1412). Site of the magnificent Laurence's Gate. Millmount Museum in the castle taken by Cromwell in 1649.
  • Mellifont, the first 'European-style' monastery in Ireland. Founded in 1142, near Monasterboice in order to steal its glory.
  • Monasterboice, early Christian settlement with Ireland's finest high crosses and a [round tower]
  • Rathiddy Standing Stone, in the greatest Irish epic, An Táin Bó Cuailgne, the dying hero Cú Chulainn tied himself to this stone so that he might die upright, facing his enemies.

• Mayo
  • Achill Island
  • Ashford Castle near Cong
  • Croagh Patrick - mountain place of pilgrimage - since pagan times to present day Christian times, near Westport
  • Lough Mask
  • Museum of Country Life near Castlebar

• Meath, the Royal County
  • Battle of the Boyne visitor centre
  • Ráth Cairn - A small Gaeltacht area.
  • Bective Abbey - A 12th Century Cistercian abbey.
  • Newgrange - a megalithic passage grave site older than the pyramids.
  • Knowth - a similar monument even more impressive than Newgrange that has only recently been opened for visitors.
  • Dowth - A Neolithic passage tomb, oldest principle tomb at Brú na Bóinne.
  • Brú na Bóinne - location of the above two and other monuments.
  • Loughcrew - 5,000 year old Burial Grounds.
  • Hill of Tara - seat of Ireland's ancient High Kings.
  • Kells - after which the Book of Kells is named.
  • Trim Castle - Ireland's Largest Castle.
  • Slane Castle - 18th Century Castle

• Monaghan
  • Harvest Time Blues Festival

• Offaly - "King's County"
  • Birr Castle
  • Clonmacnoise, monastic site on the banks of the River Shannon

• Roscommon
  • Lough Key

• Sligo
  • Carrowmore, passage tomb site
  • Drumcliffe with the gravesite of William Butler Yeats, near the Ben Bulben mountain
  • Sligo town with the Dominican Sligo Abbey

• Tipperary
  • Glen of Aherlow
  • Lough Derg
  • Rock of Cashel, traditional seat of the Kings of Munster

• Tyrone
  • Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh

• Waterford
  • Ardmore with the round tower of St Declan's Church
  • Waterford, Ireland's oldest city
    • Waterford Cathedral
    • Reginald's Tower

• Westmeath - Centre of Ireland - attractive lakes.
  • Athlone Castle - old castle in Athlone Town
  • Belvedere House and Gardens - Historic Gardens near Mullingar
  • Lough Owel and Lough Ennell - beautiful lakes

• Wexford
  • Enniscorthy with Enniscorthy Castle
  • Ferns Castle and Abbey
  • New Ross
  • Tintern Abbey
  • Wexford town with Selskar Abbey

• Wicklow - "the garden of Ireland"
  • Avoca
  • Bray - considered the southernmost suburb of Dublin
  • Enniskerry
  • Glendalough, 6th century monastic site with Irish Round Tower
  • Greystones
  • Powerscourt Estate, extensive castle grounds and gardens; a popular tourist attraction, includes golf course, restaurant, hotel.
  • Russborough House, an exceptionally fine example of Irish Palladian architecture, designed by Richard Cassels, built between 1741 and 1755.
  • Wicklow Mountains, an Irish national park, all of the above towns are in or near these mountains
  • Wicklow town with Wicklow Head, the easternmost point of the Republic of Ireland

Tourism Ireland

Tourism Ireland was established under the framework of the Belfast Agreement of Good Friday 1998. It is jointly funded by the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive on a two-to-one ratio, and operates under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council through the UK Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in the Republic of Ireland.

Tourism Ireland works with the two tourist boards on the island, Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, who are responsible for product and enterprise development and marketing to tourists within the island of Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act, 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading component of the Irish economy. The organisation provides strategic and practical support to develop and sustain Ireland as a tourist destination.

NITB, Northern Ireland Tourist Board

The Northern Ireland Tourist Board markets tourism in Northern Ireland. It also identifies prospects, and develops programmes to assist the tourism industry to reach its potential.

See also

• List of Ireland-related topics
• Common Travel Area
• Gardens in the Republic of Ireland
• Parks in the Republic of Ireland