A leading guide book has come up with its somewhat predictable list of must-see spots in Ireland. But where are the best places away from the tourist track?
THIS WEEK, a Lonely Planet guide outlined the top 25 must-do things and attractions in Ireland, ranging from black-taxi tours to a walk along the Antrim coast. The list pretty much stuck to the well-trodden and typical Irish activities, such as golf, traditional music and nightlife. So what should visitors to Ireland see that is off the tourist track? Below, some of those in the know give advice on what to do and see in their local areas.
Charlie Connelly
Author of Our Man in Hibernia
I’m living in Clontarf and I’m a big fan of the North Bull Island. You can walk out to the end of the harbour wall and see across to the Wicklow Mountains and Dublin Port. It’s an area a lot of people don’t seem to know is there. I live around the corner from it so that’s why I know about it. It’s a good relaxing spot.
Another place nearby is St Anne’s Park, which is an old Guinness estate, again in Clontarf. It’s a stone’s throw from the coast. Again, it’s a nice place to wonder around on a sunny day. There is a great café in the old stable and they have art exhibitions and other events.
I also like the toilets in the National Library. They are old Victorian toilets and are spotless and authentic with large armchairs and original tiling. I’m standing there thinking this is exactly where Joyce was going to the bathroom years earlier.
Pat Liddy
Tour guide with Dublin Walking Tours
The Chester Beatty Library and Galleries is one of my favourite places. It is undersold by everybody selling Ireland Inc, and yet it is one of the most incredible museums in the world. It has the world’s biggest collection of Islamic Korans, outside of Istanbul. And it has the world’s oldest fragments of the New Testament. It is so quiet. I brought two people in for half an hour on a tour recently and they stayed for four hours, they thought it was so wonderful. As a walk, the northside of the city is pretty neglected. Things like the Writers’ Museum, the Garden of Remembrance and also Henrietta Street. My appeal would be to not forget the northside.
Katie Verling
Director of Glór Irish Music Centre in Ennis
One thing I always try get visitors to do is to go to Miltown in west Clare on a Saturday night to Friel’s Bar. This is the best of Irish music for people who want an experience of the real deal. This is not set up specifically for tourists.
If I had to pick out scenic drives, there’s a beautiful road that goes up from Kilnaboy all through the beautiful Clare countryside and around the back of Mullaghmore. You even get to pass Father Ted’s house.
Billy Keane
Writer and publican in Listowel, Co Kerry
Without sounding like a total self-promoter, on Tuesday and Thursday nights we have free theatre in Keane’s Bar. At the other side of the town is the Lartigue Monorailway. It was a mad plan to build a rail link between Listowel and Ballybunion by a French guy. You could spend a day at that and you might meet only a handful of tourists all day.
Olwyn Enright
TD from Birr, Co Offaly
I always recommend Boora Parkland. It’s basically an area of bog land with water features and huge outdoor sculptures. It’s a fantastic attraction and not fully on the tourist map yet. It’s located between Kilcormac and Cloghan and well worth a visit.
The grounds of Birr Castle are always worth a visit also. They have the tallest box hedges in the world, and a huge history of astronomy and photography. It’s all outlined in an interactive format in the science centre. It suits all the family really and is great for locals too who want a leisurely day out.
Mike Darcy
DJ and club promoter living in Cork
West Cork gets a lot of the limelight, but from the point of view of going somewhere really nice within 15 or 20 minutes of the city centre, east Cork is a much neglected area. It tends to be far less populated with traffic and tourists.
In Cork city itself, I have a soft spot for the Shandon area. If you move back to the other side of the main Cork-Mallow road you walk past Murphy’s Brewery and a good spot for a picnic is at the top of Richmond Hill. From here the whole city is visible.
Susan O’Keeffe
Journalist and broadcaster living in Co Sligo
The great thing about Sligo is that it is chock-a-block with stuff to do that is not really known. The Carrowkeel Tombs I find fascinating. You climb up the side of a mountain, through a pathway and arrive at these tombs. There are no signs or plastic key rings and you feel you can almost reach back through the centuries. Because it is not very well known, it is never over-run and you might only meet two or three others.
The other experience visitors might try is Doorly Park, which is a walk by the Garavogue river. It’s just a simple walk by the river and may suit older people or kids.
