13 Best Sights in County Clare, Galway, and the Aran Islands, Ireland

Beside the Burren Centre in Kilfenora, the ruins of a small 12th-century church, once the Cathedral of St. Fachtna, have been partially restored as a parish church. Over the transept, a glass ceiling protects High Crosses and effigies from the harsh elements. Note the impressive Doorty Cross in the Lady's Chapel. There are some interesting carvings in the roofless choir, including an unusual, life-size human skeleton. In the chancel, there is an impressive east-facing window with ancient carvings. In a field, about 165 feet west of the ruins is an elaborately sculpted High Cross that is worth examining, though parts of it are badly weathered. Visit early evening when the High Crosses are illuminated to get a clearer view of their intricacies and scale.

The biggest and most famous of the Burren's megalithic tombs, Poulnabrone ("the hole of sorrows") is a portal grave/dolmen with a massive capstone and a majestic presence amid the craggy limestone fields shouldering the moody gray Burren skies. The monument was built around 4,500 years ago. Stand downwind and you might hear ancient whispers. There is a designated car park nearby with a historical timeline and a short gravel walkway to the dolmen (freely accessible). It's open and windy here, so grab an extra layer.

Set in a meadow by a crystal clear river in the heart of the village and beside the ruin of St. Mary’s Church, Quin Abbey is one of Ireland’s finest ancient monasteries. Legend has it that a McNamara chieftain built the abbey in 1402 in gratitude to God for saving his son, who had survived a tumble into the icy river at the site of construction. The choice of location was most likely due to the sturdy retaining walls and turrets of an old Norman castle that had remained intact, forming a practical foundation for the abbey. The bumpy terrain in the surrounding fields gives an insight to the old castle’s scale. Despite Quin Abbey’s desecration and damage during the turbulent 17th century, its bell tower, cloisters, and lady’s chapel are well maintained. Take time to inspect the south-facing wall of the church: the shape of a crucifix will appear, etched onto the charred masonry after a Cromwellian visit. The founder of the monastery is interred here, while his descendant, "Fireball" McNamara, is buried around the corner in the lady’s chapel. Other notable eternal guests of the abbey include the Dunboyne family from nearby Knappogue Castle, and the Blood Family, relatives of the great crown jewel thief, Thomas Blood.

Coole Park was once the home of Lady Augusta Gregory (1859–1932), patron of W. B. Yeats and cofounder with the poet of Dublin's Abbey Theatre. Yeats visited here often, as did almost all the other writers who contributed to the Irish literary revival in the first half of the 20th century. The house became derelict after Lady Gregory's death and was demolished in 1941; the grounds are now a wildlife park with a herd of deer and 6 km (4 miles) of nature trails. Picnic tables make this a lovely alfresco lunch spot. There's also a visitor center with displays on Lady Gregory and W. B. Yeats. Don't miss the park's only reminder of its literary past, the Autograph Tree, a giant copper beech, on which many of Lady Gregory's famous guests carved their initials.

Dominating Galway City's skyline for more than half a century with its massive, green, copper dome, Galway Cathedral's hulking brick exterior has had a mixed reception from critics since its construction. Inside, the limestone walls draw the eye up, while the stained-glass windows and the dome's light-filled contour add a heavenly perspective.

The city's civic museum, housed in a modern building behind the Spanish Arch, contains materials relating to local history: old photographs, antiquities (the oldest is a stone ax head carbon-dated to 3500 BC), and a full-scale Galway hooker (turf-carrying boat) in the stairwell, as well as information on the city's involvement in Ireland's 1916 Rising. On the top floor, there's a child-friendly ocean-life museum with panoramic Corrib River views. Its café, the Kitchen, is a lively lunch and coffee spot.

Lynch'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.

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.

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.

Thanks 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.

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.

Galway'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.