County Clare, Galway, and the Aran Islands
We’ve compiled the best of the best in County Clare, Galway, and the Aran Islands - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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21. Kenny Gallery
Take the Ballybrit bus (or a 30-minute walk) from the city center to this gallery, which hosts about a dozen shows a year. It's open Monday to Saturday 9 to 5.
Liosbán Retail Park, Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland091-709–350Sight Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. -
22. Kilkee Beach
This wide, sweeping, crescent-shape, sandy beach is cradled by the town's rocky contours and slopes down gently to the ocean. It was a favorite of author Charlotte Brontë. The absence of a strong current means that it's one of the safest swimming spots on the west coast. Amenities: none. Best for: swimming, walking.
Kilkee Bay, Co. Clare, Ireland -
23. Loop Head Lighthouse
Loop Head Lighthouse has kept navigators on the right watery path since its construction in 1670. The current, pint-size white tower house was built in 1854 and is open for tours. On a fine day, views from the balcony encompass the Blaskets in the south to the 12 Pin Mountains in Connemara. There's a lighthouse exhibition in the lightkeeper's cottage.
Kilbaha South, Co. Clare, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: €4, Closed Oct.--mid-Apr. -
24. Lynch's Castle
CenterLynch's Castle, once the stronghold of Galway's ruling family, dates back to 1600. These days it's occupied by a branch of a local bank, making its stone fireplace accessible to the public. Check out the gargoyles peering from its facade before heading around the corner to find Lynch's window. According to legend, magistrate and mayor James Lynch FitzStephen hanged his son from its sturdy Gothic frame as punishment for the murder of a Spanish sailor.
Shop St., Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland -
25. Magh Adhair
Wander off the beaten path to discover the inauguration site of Ireland’s greatest king, Brian Boru. Weaving through narrow country lanes, Magh Adhair appears to the left in the shape of a large grass-coated mound of earth, just past a small stone bridge that crosses Hell River. The mound is in fact a natural amphitheater where a lone voice could cut through large crowds during important regional ceremonies. It’s one of the most sacred druid sites in Munster and believed to be the final resting place of Adhar, whose brother, Aengus, built Dun Aengus—a giant hill fort overlooking the ocean in the Aran Islands. Watch out for the bullaun (basin) stone altar, which looks like a giant’s molar with a smooth, bowl-shape top. The druids believed that this altar captured hallowed water that protected their chieftains during and after life. Park the car before reaching the site as the road is very narrow.
Co. Clare, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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26. Mooghaun Hill Fort
This prehistoric hill fort, once populated with the most powerful chieftains in the region, is the largest of its kind in Ireland. It commands a sweeping view of the Shannon, Ireland’s longest river, which made it a strategic outlook for enemies navigating the main transport artery into the region. Today, a series of sturdy concentric walls set into a deep hilly thicket that hugs the northern territory of Dromoland Estate are what remain of this former dynasty's stronghold, constructed around 1000 BC. Information markers guide visitors past significant landmarks over the 27 acres, and a stone tower at the summit of the hill offers a rewarding view over the countryside. While much of the experience here is in your imagination (as in, imagining what would have once taken place on this very ground), the site makes for a truly beautiful and serene woodland walk, and it is particularly attractive in early autumn when the oak, horse chestnut, and beech trees turn every shade of crimson and amber. Turn to the left on leaving Mooghaun, and heading toward Quin, cast an eye over a humped-back bridge. It was the site of Europe’s greatest gold find, many pieces of which are on display in Dublin and at the British Museum in London. The hoard belonged to the residents of Mooghaun.
Co. Clare, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
27. MV Plassy Shipwreck
The hulking, rusty wreck lying on the island's west coast has gained a cult following ever since it appeared in the opening credits of the acclaimed Irish television show, Father Ted. Horses and traps stop by to explain its fleeting fame and cyclists stop here to take a selfie break.
Aran Islands, Co. Galway, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
28. NUI Galway
UniversityThanks in part to its central location, NUI Galway has become an inextricable part of Galway life since its construction in 1845, as only a handful of other universities, such as Oxford, have done. In fact its Tudor Gothic–style quadrangle was modeled on Christ Church in Oxford. It houses Galway's "hidden museum," the James Mitchell Geology Museum, which has a collection of 15,000 rocks, gemstones, and fossils.
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29. O'Brien's Castle
This ruined 15th-century tower house (also referred to as An Tur Faire or "the tower ruin") dominates the island from the top of a steep rocky hill; a martello tower keeps it company.
Co. Galway, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
30. Salmon Weir Bridge
CenterThe bridge itself is nothing special, but in season—from mid-April to early July—shoals of salmon are visible from its deck as they lie in the clear river water before making their way upstream to the spawning grounds of Lough Corrib.
Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland -
31. Salthill
A lively, hugely popular seaside resort, Salthill is beloved for its old-fashioned seaside promenade—the traditional place "to sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh, and see the sun go down on Galway Bay," as Bing Crosby used to croon in the most famous song about the city. Today locals use it for a routine run from the city center or weekend leap into the ocean from its diving boards. The main attraction of the village, set 3 km (2 miles) west of Galway, is the long sandy beach along the edge of Galway Bay and the promenade above it. New hotels, trendy restaurants, and craft beer pubs along the seafront have nevertheless left plenty of room for the traditional amusement arcades (full of slot machines), seasonal cafés, and a fairground.
Co. Galway, Ireland -
32. Scattery Island
Once a community, this remote island where the mouth of the Shannon River touches the Wild Atlantic Way is a time capsule of days gone by. St. Senan set up a monastery here in the 6th century believing that the remoteness of the island brought him closer to God. The six churches on the island today date from the 14th century, and its Round Tower at 120 feet is one of the tallest in Ireland. Drop by Kilrush Marina for a frequent ferry service to the island.
Merchants Quay, Kilrush, Co. Clare, Ireland085-250--5514Sight Details
Rate Includes: €25, Closed Oct.--Apr. -
33. Spanish Arch
Spanish ArchBuilt in 1584 to protect Spanish ships that were unloading cargoes of wines and brandies at the quays, this impressive stone arch is now the central feature of the newly restored Spanish Parade, a riverside piazza that draws a gathering of buskers and leisure seekers.
View Tours and ActivitiesSpanish Parade, Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland -
34. St. Flannan's Cathedral
Built by the O'Brien clan in the early 13th century, Killaloe Cathedral is the most prominent landmark in the town's streetscape. Inside the cathedral you can see rare carvings including a Kilfenora Cross and the Thorgrim Stone, which has unique runic and ogham inscriptions. Capture the cathedral's beauty from across the lake in Ballina.
Royal Parade, Killaloe, Co. Clare, Ireland -
35. St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church Galway
CenterBuilt by the Anglo-Normans in 1320 and enlarged by members of the 14 tribes when they were at their most powerful during the 16th century, the church contains many fine carvings of lions, mermaids, and gargoyles dating from the late Middle Ages, and it's one of the best-preserved medieval churches in Ireland. Columbus prayed here on a visit to Galway in 1477. On Saturday morning a street market, held in the pedestrian way beside the church, attracts dozens of vendors and hundreds of shoppers.
Mainguard St. and Lombard St., Galway City, Co. Galway, Ireland091-564–648Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
36. The Claddagh and Katie’s Cottage and Arts Centre
On the west bank of the Corrib Estuary, this district was once an Irish-speaking fishing village outside the walls of the old town. The name is an Anglicization of the Irish cladach, which means "marshy ground." It retained a strong, separate identity until the 1930s, when its traditional thatched cottages were replaced by a conventional housing plan and its unique character and traditions were largely lost. One thing has survived: the claddagh ring, composed of two hands clasped around a heart with a crown above it (symbolizing love, friendship, and loyalty), was designed some 400 years ago by a goldsmith in this village, and is still used by many Irish, and Irish diaspora, as a wedding ring. Reproductions in gold or silver are favorite Galway souvenirs. Across the Corrib is the "Long Walk"---Galway's famous waterfront streetscape, for some Insta magic---or continue walking west for a magnificent coastal walk or run to Salthill. In the center of The Claddagh, in a residential area, is Katie's Cottage, a replica of a typical Claddagh home, which is open as a café and exhibition center.
Upper Fairhill Rd., The Claddagh, Galway City, Co. Galway, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: From €3 -
37. The Craggaunowen Project
It's a strange experience to walk across the little wooden bridge above reeds rippling in the lake into Ireland's Celtic past as an aircraft passes overhead on its way into Shannon Airport—1,500 years of history compressed into an instant. But if you love all things Celtic, you'll have to visit the Craggaunowen Project. The romantic centerpiece is Craggaunowen Castle, a 16th-century tower house restored with furnishings from the period. It was a retreat for "Honest" Tom Steele, a local squire who famously canvassed Pope Pius VII to change his religion before he had a change of heart and became a key figure in Catholic emancipation. Look for Steele’s initials carved into a stone quoin outside the castle. Huddling beneath its battlements are two replicas of early Celtic-style dwellings. On an island in the lake, reached by a narrow footbridge, is a clay-and-wattle crannóg, a fortified lake dwelling; it resembles what might have been built in the 6th or 7th century, when Celtic influence still predominated in Ireland. The reconstruction of a small ring fort shows how an ordinary soldier would have lived in the 5th or 6th century, at the time Christianity was being established here. Characters from the past explain their Iron Age (500 BC–AD 450) lifestyle, show you around their small holding stocked with animals, and demonstrate crafts skills from bygone ages. Be sure to check out the Brendan boat, a hide vessel used by explorer Tim Severn to test, and prove, the legend that Irish St. Brendan discovered America in a curragh boat almost a millennium before Christopher Columbus. The park is hilly in parts, particularly near the wild boar compound. Bring comfortable walking shoes.
Kilmurry, Co. Clare, V95 AD7E, Ireland061-711--222Sight Details
Rate Includes: From €10, Closed Sept.--Mar. -
38. The Hall of the Red Earl
CenterGalway's Custom's House discovered a hoard of artifacts in its foundation, which revealed the site's significant past, as the palace of Ricard de Burgo, an earl who was the grandson of the city's founding father. It was the nerve center of Galway---its tax office, courthouse, and town hall all under one roof. Today, the floodlit foundation of the building can be explored from a gangway through a glass partition that surrounds the dig, unveiling city life in Galway in the 13th century, before the 14 tribes ruled the city.
Druid La., Galway City, Co. Galway, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
39. The Little Ark
In a small annex at the Church of the Little Ark, just outside the tiny village of Kilbaha, is a wonderfully quirky slice of local history. During penal times Roman Catholic parishioners were restricted access to church, so Father Michael Meehan came up with the idea of holding mass in "no man's land" or rather, no man's sea, much to the frustration of local landlords. The little ark was the size of a carriage and fully assembled by 1852, when it was pulled into the shallow waters of a local cove, where locals could worship uninterrupted.
Kilbaha, Co. Clare, IrelandSight Details
Rate Includes: Free; doors to church remain open throughout the day -
40. Thoor Ballylee (Yeats’s Tower)
W. B. Yeats wrote some of his finest poetry, including "The Tower" and "The Winding Stair" in Thoor Ballylee, a small castle just an eight-minute drive from Gort. You can take the winding staircase that led the famous poet up to his writer's garret. A tablet with the words "I, the poet William Yeats, With old mill boards and sea-green slates, And smithy work from the Gort forge, Restored this tower for my wife George. And may these characters remain, When all is ruin once again" is mounted outside as a testament to the time he spent in his summer retreat. Fans of Hollywood's golden age will remember Maureen O'Hara's character, Mary Kate Danagher from John Ford's movie The Quiet Man (1952), rambling by the river at the foot of the tower house. The tower house is susceptible to flooding so call ahead.
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