52 Best Sights in The Southwest, Ireland

Fully refurbished and extended with high-spec interactive gadgetry and new displays and a first-rate café, this museum is a worthy stop to discover life on the Blasket Islands (An Bhlascaoid Mhóir), which are among Ireland's most extraordinary islands. The largest visible from Ceann Sléibhe is the Great Blasket, inhabited until 1953. The Blasket islanders were great storytellers and were encouraged by Irish scholars to write their memoirs. The Blasket Centre explains the heritage of these islanders and celebrates their use of the Irish language with videos and exhibitions. The new viewing platform (free) alone makes this center an essential part of the Dingle itinerary.  

The Ring of Kerry has very few historic country houses, so many visitors here enjoy making a special excursion to Derrynane House. Famed as the home of Daniel O'Connell ("The Liberator," 1775–1847), the man who fought for liberal reform and easing of the often cruel penal laws imposed by England on Roman Catholics and those involved in the slave "industry" (his surname appears on major street names in most of Ireland's cities). He campaigned for Catholic Emancipation (the granting of full rights of citizenship to Catholics), which became a reality in 1829. The house's south and east wings—which O'Connell himself remodeled—are decorated with original furniture and fittings. Take a self-guided tour: every piece has a genuine connection to O'Connell. The 300-acre estate of Derrynane House is freely accessible and has trails (including a woodland fairy trail) running through mature woodland, bordering on rocky outcrops that lead to wide sandy beaches and dunes. At low tide, you can walk to Abbey Island offshore. Look out for the chariot built by his supporters to draw him through Dublin streets upon his release from jail in 1844 for his efforts to repeal the union with England.

Signposting is poor.

Signposted from the main road, and accessed via a dramatic corkscrew walkway, Dún Chaoin pier is surrounded by cliffs of colored Silurian rock, more than 400 million years old and rich in fossils. Down at the pier you can see naomhóga (open fishing boats traditionally made of animal hide stretched over wooden lathes and tarred) stored upside down. Traditionally, three or four men walk these currachs out to the sea, holding them over their heads. Similar boats are used in the Aran Islands, and when properly handled they're extraordinarily seaworthy. Five minutes south on the R559  don't miss an opportunity to visit staggeringly beautiful (but lethal for swimming) Coumeenoole Beach at the foot of a curving stepway. It also featured in Ryan's Daughter in 1970. 

Massive, glacial rocks form the sides of this narrow mountain pass that stretches for 6½ km (4 miles) between MacGillicuddy's Reeks and the Purple Mountains. The Gap is a natural auditorium where sound waves can bounce from stone to return---creating almost an echo chamber, which can be fun to test out with a shout. Five small lakes are strung out beside the road. Cars are banned from the Gap, but in summer the first 3 km (2 miles) are busy with horse and foot traffic, much of which turns back at the halfway point. The entrance to the Gap is 10 km (7 miles) west of Killarney at Beaufort on the N72 Killorglin Road. If you drive or are on a tour bus, stop here and either hire a pony and trap or opt to walk. One advantage to an organized tour—and a popular option—is that, without the need to get back to your car, you can amble through the parkland as far as Lord Brandon's Cottage, then get a prebooked boat back to Killarney town.

First built by the Normans in the early 1200s, King John's Castle still bears traces on its north side of a 1691 bombardment. If you climb the drum towers (the oldest section), you'll have a spectacular view of the city and the Shannon. Inside, an audiovisual show illustrates the history of Limerick and Ireland; an archaeology center has three excavated, pre-Norman houses to explore; and interactive exhibitions include scale models of Limerick from its founding in AD 922.

This famed viewpoint, with a stunning panorama of the three lakes and the surrounding mountains, is especially glorious on a sunny day, but worth a visit in any weather. The name goes back to 1861, when Queen Victoria was a guest at Muckross House. Upon seeing the view, her ladies-in-waiting were said to have been dumbfounded by its beauty. You may find yourself speechless, too, so be sure to bring your camera.

The visitor center is a thatched replica of a Neolithic hut and it has excellent prehistoric exhibits and a small museum that displays Neolithic pieces and replicas of Bronze Age finds in the Lough Gur area (originals are displayed in Dublin’s National Museum). The center gives context to the fascinating historical merit of the ancient settlements in the surrounding area. Of most significance is Grange, a magnificent 4,000-year-old circular enclosure made up of 113 upright stones. It’s the largest prehistoric circle of its kind in Ireland and worth the detour from Limerick City. It's a 3-km (2-mile) walk from the heritage center with free roadside parking and access to the site.

Overlooking the beach is the pottery studio of one of Ireland's leading ceramic artists. Louis Mulcahy produces large pots and urns that are both decorative and functional. You can watch the work in progress and buy items at workshop prices. There's also a coffee shop.

This ivy-clad Victorian manor is located next door to Killarney National Park Visitor Center. Upstairs, elegantly furnished rooms are stuffed with, in typical Victorian fashion, rugs, animal wall mounts, and idiosyncratic decorative furnishing and, of course---china---which was commissioned for England's Queen Victoria's visit back in 1861. Paintings are original---and include the works of John Butler Yeats (father of artist Jack and poet William) and John Singer Sargent. The upstairs lifestyle of the landed gentry in the 1800s contrasts with the conditions of servants employed in the basement of Muckross House. 

The magnificent informal grounds are noted for their rhododendrons and azaleas, the water garden, and the outstanding limestone rock garden. In the park beside the house, the Muckross Traditional Farms include reconstructed farm buildings and outbuildings, a blacksmith's forge, a carpenter's workshop, and a selection of farm animals. It's a reminder of the way things were done on the farm before electricity and the mechanization of farming. Meet and chat with the farmers and their wives as they go about their work. You'll also find folk displays where potters, bookbinders, and weavers demonstrate their crafts. The visitor center has a shop and a restaurant.

The masterpiece of the Skellig Islands is the phenomenal UNESCO World Heritage site of Skellig Michael, with its amazing remains of a 7th- to 12th-century village of monastic beehive dwellings that were home to early Christian monks. In spite of a thousand years of battering by Atlantic storms, the church, oratory, and living cells are surprisingly well preserved. The site is reached by climbing more than 600 increasingly precipitous steps, offering vertigo-inducing views. The Skelligs boat trip includes 1½ hours on Skellig Michael. Despite the publicity following the island's pivotal appearance in the two most recent Star Wars movies, The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, access to this fragile site is still limited to 180 visitors a day, so book in advance (booking opens in early spring) and hope for good weather. Because of the choppy seas, stiff climb, and lack of facilities, the trip is not recommended for small children or those with mobility issues.

St. Mary's Cathedral is the city's oldest building in daily use. It was founded in 1168 on the site of an elaborate palace, some of which can still be seen today, such as the elaborately carved Romanesque-style door that was once the entrance to original building. Inside, the black-oak carved misericords in the choir stalls are unique to Ireland and are from this period, while the alter in the Lady' Chapel is 13 foot long, and it is the cathedral's original pre-Reformation (from when the church was a Catholic place of worship) masterpiece. Oliver Cromwell's troops had dumped it, but it resurfaced in the 1960s in remarkably good shape. Donal Mór O'Brien, the last king of Munster and the man who constructed the cathedral, is believed to be buried in St Mary's; a stunning carved sculpture of O'Brien prince stands on the grounds.

Other notable features include cannon balls that have remained since the siege of Limerick by the Williamites in 1691, exquisite stained glass windows and a leper's squint - a slot where the sick could hear mass and receive communion. The bells of the cathedral's bells have cast a spellbinding melody across the city for decades. Bear in mind this is a fully functioning church with daily Church of Ireland services throughout the week.      

One of Ireland's oldest and biggest---and arguably best---markets, with a fine collection of artisanal food producers, many direct from the rich pastures in County Limerick's Golden Vale. Cheese, breads, pastries, meat, along with fresh fruit and vegetable traders and sushi and garnish producers, sell their wares beneath a sturdy, all-weather canvas roof with a café upstairs in a mezzanine. Boho vintage clothing retailers and restaurants operate around the perimeter. The market takes place over the weekend, although Saturday morning is the time to see local citizens arrive in droves. For a sweet break, head around the corner to Cruise's Street for a selection of bakeries selling fresh cream cakes, pies, and coffee.    

Along the perimeter of the Iveragh Peninsula, the dramatic coastal road from Kenmare to Killorglin known as the Ring of Kerry is probably Ireland's single most popular tourist route. Stunning mountain and coastal views are around almost every turn. The only drawback: on a sunny day, it seems like half the nation's visitors are traveling along this two-lane road, driving, packed into buses, riding bikes, or backpacking. The route is narrow and curvy, and the local sheep think nothing of using it for a nap; take it slowly. Tour buses tend to start in Killarney and ply the Ring counterclockwise, so consider jumping ahead and starting in Killorglin or following the route clockwise, starting in Kenmare (although this means you risk meeting tour buses head-on on narrow roads). Either way, bear in mind that most of the buses leave Killarney between 9 and 10 am. The trip covers 179 km (111 miles) on N70 (and briefly R562 and N71) if you start and finish in Killarney. The journey will be 40 km (25 miles) shorter if you only venture between Kenmare and Killorglin. Because rain blocks views across the water to the Beara Peninsula in the east and the Dingle Peninsula in the west, hope for sunshine. It makes all the difference.

This center is home to an array of helpful facilities, including a restaurant and three retail outlets (one sells sweaters, another crafts, and the third heraldry items). There is also an exhibition on Adare's history since 1223, complete with a 15-minute audiovisual display, but some may feel it is not worth the extra fee. Guided tours of Desmond Castle (June–September; €6) can be booked in advance online, and leave the center by bus.

This is an outstanding place to get a feel for what Killarney is all about: lake and mountain scenery. Stand beside Aghadoe's 12th-century ruined church and Round Tower, and watch the shadows creep gloriously across Lower Lake, with Innisfallen Island in the distance and the Gap of Dunloe to the west.

This large, elaborate, neo-Gothic structure dominates the main street. It was built in 1888 of Newry granite and black limestone to honor local hero Daniel O'Connell—the only church in Ireland named after a layman.

A signpost to the right outside Glenbeigh points to Caragh Lake, a tempting excursion south to a beautiful expanse of water set among gorse- and heather-covered hills and majestic mountains. The road hugs the shoreline much of the way.

West of Waterville and 1 km (½ mile) before the Irish-speaking village of Ballinskelligs is the Cill Rialaig Arts Centre. This is the best place in Kerry to see Irish and international art, along with fine crafts and gifts. Its attractive, thatched, beehive-shape roof is hard to miss. There's also a café with wholesome homemade food and a wood-burning pizza oven.

This dramatic, windswept stretch of rocks and sand visible below the coast road to the north of Slea Head is not a safe spot to swim, but it's a good place to watch the ocean dramatically pound the rocks when a storm is approaching or a gale is blowing. It may be familiar from David Lean's 1970 film Ryan's Daughter.Amenities: none. Best for: walking.

Perched on the very edge of a Dingle Bay cliff, and set in the small district of Fahan (which is part of the larger township of Ventry), this small, well-weathered fort was an important Iron Age defensive promontory site, inhabited from about AD 800 until around 1200. It was badly damaged by storms in the winter of 2017-18, and it is unlikely full access will be restored, but you can still view it from above. Its drystone mound was defended against cattle raiders by four earthen rings—note the souterraine (underground) escape route, by the entrance. In addition, there are a number of archaeological artifacts here to interest the time traveler.

There is a 10-minute audiovisual show in the adjacent visitor center, but just as fascinating is the building itself, a modern replica of the drystone construction of the clocháns (pronounced "cluk-awns"), the famous prehistoric "beehive" cells first used by hermit monks in the early Christian period. Beside it is a typical naomhóg (pronounced "na-vogue"), a tarred canvas canoe, resting upside down.

About 1 km (½ mile) farther on is another parking lot, and an interesting group of clocháns can be visited (€3 fee to resident farmer), built of drystone and set on the southern slopes of Mt. Eagle looking out directly across the sea to Skellig Michael. Far from being only prehistoric relics, as the signposts claim, clocháns were being built until a century ago; wood was scarce and stone abounded, so you'll find more than 400 of them between Ceann Sléibhe and Dún Chaoin.

Foynes was the crossroads between American and European skies in the early, glamorous days of flying. In fact, it was on this very site that an innovative chef called Joe Sheridan created the Irish coffee on a chilly night in 1943 to warm the bones of shivering passengers. The airport would soon move across the river to become Shannon Airport, but in that brief period in the middle of the 20th century, this little village welcomed dignitaries like Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, King George of Greece, novelist Ernest Hemingway, and from the golden age of Hollywood, Douglas Fairbanks, Bob Hope, actress Gracie Fields, Bill Rogers, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart. The museum has the only B314 flying boat replica in the world, and it also explores the area's maritime history. There is a café on-site along with an Irish coffee lounge.

Since 1983, Dingle's central attraction, apart from its "trad" music scene, has been a winsome wild bottlenose dolphin who has taken up residence in the harbor. The Dingle dolphin, or Fungie, as he has been named, will play for hours with swimmers (a wet suit is essential) and scuba divers, and he follows local boats in and out of the harbor. It's impossible to predict whether he will stay, but boatmen have become so confident of a sighting that they offer trippers their money back if Fungie does not appear. Boat trips (€16) leave the pier hourly in July and August between 11 and 6, weather permitting.

One of Ireland's most interesting sights is also one of the country's best-preserved early Christian churches. Gallarus Oratory dates from the 7th or 8th century and ingeniously makes use of corbeling—successive levels of stone projecting inward from both side walls until they meet at the top to form an unmortared roof. The structure is still watertight after more than 1,000 years.

Designed by architect Davis Ducart---the man who modeled the city's entire Georgian grid---this handsome limestone building was once the Old Custom House. Located on the banks of the Shannon in the city center, the Hunt Museum has the finest collection of Celtic and medieval treasures outside the National Museum in Dublin. Ancient Irish metalwork, European objets d'art, and a selection of 20th-century European and Irish paintings—including works by Jack B. Yeats—are on view. The museum has regular high-profile exhibitions. Free tours are offered and a café overlooks the river.

Despite its diminutive name, Inch is a 5-km (3-mile) stretch of sand and sea that extends as far as Dingle Bay. Its vast and glorious setting created pivotal backdrops for movies like Ryan’s Daughter (1970), Excalibur (1981), and Far And Away (1992)---but in Ireland it’s famous for its summer surf schools and the 3-meter-high waves that can approach its westerly coastline.

The monastic ruins on Innisfallen Island include a Celtic cross and date from the 6th or 7th century. Between AD 950 and 1350 the Annals of Innisfallen were compiled here by monks. (The book survives in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.) There is a rough walking trail around the island, a wishing stone, and wild deer, but don't expect any facilities. On a sunny day, this is a charming place to take a picnic. From Ross Castle, row yourself over or let a boatman-guide take you out to the island (both options €12), or you can join a cruise (€12) from the castle, in a covered, heated launch.

If someone in your family has ambitions to play sport professionally, this interactive museum will test your budding athlete’s aspiration with an immersive, linear voyage through the steps in that journey. Focused on rugby (it is Limerick, after all) the museum charts the journey from the grass roots of the game, through training and team participation, and culminates in the greatest rugby moments on the global stage. The building has commanding views of the city, a café, and retail---and is bang in the heart of the city.

At the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe, Kate Kearney's Cottage is a good place to rent a jaunting car or pony. Kate was a famous beauty who sold illegal poitín (moonshine) from her home, contributing greatly, one suspects, to travelers' enthusiasm for the scenery. Appropriately enough, Kearney's is now a pub and restaurant, and a good place to pause for an Irish coffee.

At the entrance to the Gap of Dunloe, Kate Kearney's Cottage is a good place to rent a jaunting car or pony. Kate was a famous beauty who sold illegal poitín (moonshine) from her home, contributing greatly, one suspects, to travelers' enthusiasm for the scenery. Appropriately enough, Kearney's is now a pub and restaurant, and a good place to pause for an Irish coffee.

The subtropical gardens teeming with ferns and exotic plants date from 1838, and have been fully restored and greatly improved by the present owners, Billy and Penn Alexander. The Skywalk rope bridge is the longest in Ireland and takes half an hour to walk. The front-gate waterfall and the giant Chilean wine palm compete for your attention with carved wooden dinosaurs and giant Dicksonia antarctica (Tasmanian fern trees) dating from the 1890s, so allow at least an hour for the rest of the garden. Penn, a former chef, has opened a Thai restaurant that is very popular locally and opens for lunch, dinner, and takeaway. Do not let the rain put you off visiting: Kells receives more than 60 inches of rain annually, and it actually enhances the plants and the waterfall. But do wear sensible shoes as it is usually damp underfoot.