An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland–Ecodestinations
Sustainable travel. Responsible tourism. Ecotourism. These are the buzz words for people who want and need to travel but sincerely desire to leave as light a carbonfoot print as possible. In which case, Ireland has a great deal to offer. In my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland, E stands for Eire as an Eco-destination. A great deal of effort and investment has been made to maximise the attractions and unspoilt natural beauty of Ireland’s Northwest as an ecotourism destination. There is absolutely a wealth of things to see, places to stay and good food to eat – and I have a hot tip at the end of this article for how you can neutralise you air and terrestrial mileage at the end of this article.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland – Dolmens
Many visitors to Ireland want to make sure that they see a dolmen. So the letter D in my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland is represented by dolmens. Now a dolmen is an ancient monument with at least two upright or standing stones with a capstone forming a sort of roof for the monument. Dolmens are assumed to be tombs. They date from Neolithic times. If the archaeologists are right then our hunter/gatherer ancestors were very reverential with regard to the internment of the human corpse.
There are at least four types of dolmen- portal tombs, wedge tombs, passage tombs and court tombs.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland- Fleadhs and Fairies
Fleadhs and Fairies work together not only because they both start with the letter F! In my latest blog in the my series An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland, both are inextricably connected. Fleadh is short for the fleadh cheoil, which translates as a music festival. And if you want to go fairy hunting in Ireland than music will help you in your search if fairies are on your list of things to see in Ireland.
There are many music festivals in Ireland, especially during the summer months. A quick internet check will show you that there is generally a festival going on somewhere in Ireland every month of the year! However, there is a long list to choose from if you are visiting Ireland in July or August. But when we say fleadhs then the kind of music you will be seeing played is traditional Irish or Irish folk music. This can include séan nos singers, rebel songs, as well as folk rock that has its roots in traditional music. It is also work checking for Summer Schools in the area where you are visiting because not only will you hear amazing sessions of music, you will also be able to attend classes and improve your own musical skills in tin whistle, fiddle, flute, bohran, mandolin, harp, bazooki and more!
Here’s a clip of Tony Cuckson singing the traditional song “My Lagan Love” just to get you into the fleadh mood.
But I have to draw your attention to the All Ireland Fleadh or Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann which will be held again in 2012 in Cavan Town. This is the third year in a row that Cavan has hosted this important national and international festival. It is the second biggest festival in Ireland and will be held this year from Friday, 10th August until Monday, 20th August, 2012.
Cavan is very handy for what I call Fairy Central in Ireland. But I have to warn you. The fairies like gifts. Some of us leave chocolate. Others leave a shiny coin. But some
musically gifted visitors give them song! I was guiding some Fleadh 2011 guests from Cincinnati, Ohio around the Cavan Burren Forest last August and these musicians were moved to give the fairies living in the forest a song as an offering for wandering around their home turf.
The original fairy race, the Tuatha de Danaan, first landed in their ships of silver and ships of gold, on Iron Mountain, Slieve Anieran, in County Leitrim, which is the county to the south and west of County Cavan. With its holy wells, sweat houses and limestone geology it is not hard to view this landscape as sacred.
When the Tuatha de Danaan were vanquished at the Second Battle of Moytura they went underground and became the fairy or faerie folk. Legend tells us that after their defeat they headed back to their homeplace at Slieve Anieran and so this part of Ireland has a very palpable sense of fairy eyes, fairy music, fairy dust, fairy magic and fairy mischief. There is a very strong presence for those who want to go fairy hunting. If you have an open heart and are willing to make an exchange (for the fairies are strongly motivated by the principle of reciprocity) then they may deign to make themselves known to you.
But I caution you that you need to approach respectfully. The sceptics amongst you should be kindly advised to hold their opinions to themselves. Criticism or mockery is a heart scald to any species.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland : Glens…and The Greenway
If you are wanting to sample some of Ireland’s beautiful scenery and countryside then you need to take a walk through a glen. In my A-Z of things to See in Ireland G stands for Glen. These narrow valleys are common in ‘drumlin’ country where ice sheets carved out these valleys surrounded by distinctive whale shaped hills. In Leitrim you are spoiled for choice since there are seven glens of Leitrim.
North Leitrim is probably the best place for walking and seeing glens. As well as the glens there are also lakes and waterfalls. These glens centre around the town of Manorhamilton, a pleasant place of around 2,000 souls that supports a community centre, Scuplture Centre and theatre venue The Glens Centre. A vibrant artistic community has clustered around this town. There is also a weekly Farmers Market at the Bee Park where the many organic growers, inspired by the local Organic Centre, sell their produce.
Glens, apart from being very beautiful things to see in Ireland, also offer the possibility of walks and leisurely driving tours along the byways of Ireland. The Holey Soles Walking Group, based in Manorhamilton, runs a hillwalking weekend each year, usually over the Easter weekend. The allows visitors to have skilled local guides to take groups and access private land usually out of bounds to the casual tourist.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland : Cathedrals, Castles and the Cavan Burren
We are spoiled for choice when we come to the letter C in my A-Z of things to see in Ireland. So this is a bit of a whistle stop tour to whet your interest about all things beginning with C to see in Ireland!
Many visitors arrive in the country through Dublin’s airport or ferry port. So if you would like to get your cathedral fix from the off there are two significant cathedrals to visit in Dublin. There is the Dublin Pro Cathedral and Christchurch. A cathedral has been on Christchurch’s site since 1028 and the current cathedral has many medieval flourishes but was last renovated by the Victorians. The bells chime out the hour. The Roman Catholic archbishopric is at St. Mary’s, also known as Dublin Pro Cathedral.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland – Beaches
Ireland is an island nation fringed by beautiful beaches. When I drafted this personal A-Z of Things to See in Ireland B just had to be for beach. Ireland’s beaches vary from the sunny white strands of the Celtic Sea, the ferry ports on the Irish Sea, and the rugged and varied beaches that face the Atlantic Ocean. It would be very difficult indeed to pass by a beach on a list of things to see in Ireland. With so many hundred of miles of coastline there can never be a definitive list of beaches in my A-Z of Things to See in Ireland.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland: Ancient Sites
It’s a rare visitor to Ireland who does not have Ancient Sites on their wish list of things to see in Ireland. While the Big Name is Brú na Boínne (Newgrange), a World Heritage Site, there are many other Ancient Sites around Ireland to visit.
Newgrange is of especial interest as the winter solstice dawn illuminates the chamber each year. Tickets to be admitted to the chamber are dispersed by lottery and people can wait many years to see this magical event.
Lesser known but of as much archaeological and heritage significance are Carrowmore and Carrowkeel in County Sligo. Carrowmore, in the shadow of Queen Maeve’s Cairn on Knocknarea, has passage tombs just as Newgrange, which date from 4000-3500 BCE. Unlike Newgrange, Carrowmore is aligned to both the north star and the summer solstice alignment. In this ancient site complex close to Sligo town you will find many dolmens, stone circles, chambered cairns and other revenants of ancient Ireland.
Just north of Sligo Town in Cliffoney there is a very good example of a court tomb. Creevykeel is 6000 years old and one of the largest court tombs extant in Ireland. There is also evidence of an Iron Age smelting pit at this ancient site.
South of Sligo Town in the Bricklieve Mountains is Carrowkeel. Apart from the chambered cairns, it is near to Moytura where the legendary race of Fairy Folk, the Tuatha de Danaan were defeated in a battle that drove them into the underworld. On clear days spectacular views of the surrounding landscape spread before you. Because of the limestone landscape there are many fossils that keen geology students will notice.
The Cavan Burren Forest includes both megalithic and neolithic ancient sites within the 200 plus acreage of forestry owned by the Irish Forestry Commission, Coillte. This ancient site is located in West Cavan near the village of Blacklion and is about a hour’s drive east of Sligo Town. This ancient site is also close by the Shannon Pot, where the River Shannon, the longest river in the British Isles, rises from underground caverns in county Fermanagh under the international boundary to surface in County Cavan.
There is a small, superb stone circle at Drumskinny in County Fermanagh. Northern Ireland also has its fair share of ancient sites especially those of relevance to the early Celtic Christian church.
As you can see this is not an exhaustive list of potential ancient sites to visit but it does includes some of those of most archaeological and heritage significance.
An A-Z of Things to See in Ireland
Finding things to see in Ireland is easy as ABC. Here is a list drawing on thirty years experience of traveling in Ireland and ten years living here. Be assured there is no shortage of things to see in Ireland when you plan an itinerary.
A is for Ancient Sites
B is for Beaches
C is for Castles, Cathedrals and the Cavan Burren
D is for Dolmens
E is for Ecotourism Destinations
F is for Fleadhs and for Fairies
G is for Glens of Leitrim and the Greenway
H is for Holy Wells
I is for Islands
J is for James Joyce Celebrations
K is for the Kingfisher Trail
L is for Literary Festivals, Lacemaking and Loughs
M is for Marble Arch Caves and Music Summer Schools
N is for Neolithic Ireland
O is for Organic Ireland
P is for Pottery, St. Patrick’s Day Parades and Poetry Festivals
Q is for Quaker Pots
R is for Rock Art
S is for Stone Circles, Sculpture and Seaweed Baths
T is for Theatre
U is for the Ulster American Folk Park
V is for the Vale of Avoca
W is for long distance Walking Paths
X is for that X Factor - the spot to mark on the map where you suddenly turned left and happened upon that hidden gem not in the guide book as one of the things to see in Ireland.
Y is for Yeats Country
Zzzzzzzz will remind you to see that you get a sound sleep after a day spent on all these things to see in Ireland
Let Irish Blessings Tours create a tailored itinerary from you wish list of things to see and do in Ireland. Having traveled around Ireland for thirty years, Bee has the expertise and knowledge to match your dreams to your budget. A trained tour guide Bee is available to escort your group for an entire tour or to spend a day or two on a particular loop of your trip.
Contact Bee with your wish list – bee@irishblessingstours.com
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