Best Places to Visit in Ireland

The Giant's Causeway is a volcanic rock formation on the coast of Northern Ireland. It is beyond breathtaking, and you can literally spend hours there. The tides come in and out, and make the formations appear differently in everyone's memories. I recommend taking the road past the main formations up to the "organ", and then take the shepherd's trail up the rest of the cliff.

Drive the Ring of Kerry any time of year - but watch out for crowds June through September! The views are amazing, and the towns are fun to explore.

We got to the Blarney Castle 20 minutes before it closed. We had to RUN to the top, and it was easy! The steps to the top are winding and tight, but the view from the top is great. The man waiting at the top is friendly and happy to help you twist yourself backwards to kiss the famed stone. Walk around the grounds after you've done the important part - they are gorgeous, and very well kept.

Cashel is AMAZING. The ruins remaining are of a Cathedral and the quarters of the priest who lived there. But, the site dates farther back than that. This is the ROCK of Cashel, where High King Brian Boru reigned over the Ireland of old. This is the place where Satan tried to crush Saint Patrick on the huge rock formation that sticks out of the landscape. I don't know about that last one, but it is an awesome place!

Sadly, the Cliffs of Moher are becoming a huge National Park. It is impossible to get to close to the edge anymore, and I think that takes a little bit away from their majesty - but only a little. They are still breath-taking, just a bit safer. The new Visitor's Center recalls a Hobbit Hole, designed to be part of the landscape, and not detract from the main attraction - the Cliffs. Trek to the top, and see Sea Birds and Puffins soaring past. See the waves crash far below you, and pause to remember the unfortunate souls who have fallen into the sea, whether intentionally, or accidentally.

Newgrange is an amazing portal dolmen from days so long forgotten, it makes the pyramids look positively young. Re-discovered in the last century, Newgrange, Lowth