Sightseeing in Ireland

Sightseeing in Ireland

Sightseeing in Ireland | Skellig Michael Cruises

Skellig Ring

Just off the Ring of Kerry is a 20 mile drive along Ireland’s coast called the Skellig Ring. The ring is beautiful, quiet, and scenic. Driving around this ring will give you a wonderful opportunity to enjoy some of the top sightseeing in Ireland.

 

 

 

 

Valentia Island

Lying off the Iveragh Peninsula in the southwest cost of County Kerry, Valentia is joined to the mainland by bridge via the Portmagee Channel. You can access the Island via car ferry trip from Renard Point, Cahersiveen.

Valentia Island is without doubt a perfect island to go whenever you think of Sightseeing in Ireland, Expect to see the following:

Other sightseeing in Valentia includes;

  • St. Brendans well, Siopa cill riallaig, Saint John’s Church,
  • Walk the Boat Moorings, Trans-Atlantic Museum
  • Valentia Lighthouse, Tetrapod Footprints, Pet Farm (natural)
  • Valentia Candles, Saint Brendan’s Well, Bray Head Tower
  • Skellig Experience, Caerciveen festival of music &  the arts
  • Mug Ruith, Renard to Knightstown Car Ferry

All those make Valentia among top sightseeing in Ireland.

Ballinskelligs

Ballinskelligs located on the west coast of Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry and will offer you a fine coastal scenery with a beautiful sandy beach, as well as Pubs, Shops, Art Galleries (Siopa Cill Riallaig), Cafes, Bars and Restaurants.

With many reminders of the past, including an old monastery, a castle, stone alignments and ring forts, Ballinskelligs remain among the best sightseeing in Ireland.

Portmagee

The beautiful narrow road around Skellig Ring will take you to beautiful fishing village and the crossing point for boats to Valentia Island that was voted the top tourism town of Ireland in December 2012. The village will give you some of best sightseeing in Ireland with no doubt.

Kerry Cliffs

The cliffs are located on the coast of Atlantic Ocean along the beautiful Skellig ring. They are widely regarded the as the most spectacular cliffs in Kerry therefore Kerry Cliffs are a must on your “Sightseeing in Ireland”.

 

Skellig Islands

This is the most visited sightseeing location in Ireland guys, without exaggeration. The rocks cannot be surpassed by any other location in world such is its Mystic. The Skellig Islands are two steep sided lumps of rock rising majestically from the sea with the Great Skellig or Skellig Michael claiming UNESCO’s World Heritage Site acknowledgement.

With well preserved 6th century monasteries where Christian monks reportedly dwelt for approximately 600 years, the islands are simply a must when “sightseeing in Ireland”.

Wildlife on Skellig Island

The islands are inhabited by colonies of seabirds as well as Peregrine Falcons and Choughs. Small Skellig, closed to the public, is home to 27,000 pairs of Gannets, the second largest colony in the world.

Explore Skellig Michael islands with us

Having shown you the best sightseeing in Ireland, it is your time now to visit and explore the beauty of Skellig islands, the top attraction in the country. We here at Skellig Michael Cruises we can take you to the majestic Islands.I hope to see you soon with us, thank you.

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Skellig Michael Islands | Skellig Michael

Skellig Michael Islands | Skellig Michael Tours

Skellig Michael Islands | Skellig Michael Tours

The Skellig Islands are two small, steep rocky islands in Ireland Country Kerry lying about 13km West of Bolus Head on the Iveragh Peninsula. One of the islands is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and have been attracting visitors from all over the world who have enjoyed the uniqueness of these historic islands. These islands are famous for an early Christian monastery, gannets, and Atlantic Puffin populations.

Skellig Michael

As I have mentioned that they are two islands guys, the larger one is Great Skellig which is also known as Skellig Michael. The island has two peaks rising to over 230 metres above sea level. Great Skellig is famous for its Christian monks who occupied the island in the seventh century and they remained there until the thirteenth Century. The history of the monks in Skellig Michael Islands is absolutely amazing.

Smaller Skellig

The Small Skellig is about 1.5 km from eastnortheast of Great Skellig. The island is reputed for large colony of Northern Gannet which is just second largest colony in the world. The colony is Ireland’s largest. This makes Bird watching in Skellig Michael Islands a simple must.

Irish Monastery

Skellig Michael is the site of an old Irish monastery. It is one of the oldest sites from the ancient Christian world that can be seen today in its very original form. Before 6th Century when the Islands were founded, it is assumed that they have been solitary places.

From 7th Century monks fled to the Great Skellig where they established the site and started their life there up to the late years of 1200’s and it is strongly believed that the monks set the structures we see now on the Skellig Michael Islands.

It is truly astonishing as to how the monks adapted and survived to the Skellig Michael Islands’ wet, damp, and cold weather, though it is evident that the hermits built six beehive-shaped huts and two boat shaped oratories and used them for living and worshiping respectively.

Monks life in Skellig Michael

Monks history in the Skellig Michael Islands doesn’t end here, it is also believed that they planted gardens and they also kept sheep and goats not to mention birds and also caught fish and all these were used primarily for food. It is actually hard to comprehend why the monks decided to inhabit the Skellig Michael Islands the place the Irish used to consider the end of the world due to its remoteness and inhospitality but one thing might be true is that the monks chose the Skellig Michael Islands to be closer to God. Some myths also states the Monks chose the destination so that they could be closer to Satan so that they could defend for the rest of the worldJ.

Monks Invaded by Vikings

It is claimed that Vikings invaded Skellig Michael Islands several times. The intentions of the Vikings were to plunder all the treasures of church, taking monks as slaves and all kind of humiliation as some monks were even carried off with chains; others were stripped naked, insulted, casted out of doors while other monks were even drowned in the Atlantic Sea. It is also worth to note that after every attack, atleast one Viking was ended up been baptized by the monks.

Enjoy unique ruins in Skellig Michael Islands

A visit to this site is highly recommended guys. The monastic settlement in the islands is highly impressive, not only due to its isolated state but the unique building skills by monks who built some magnificent huts over 1,500 years ago. You can visit nowhere else in Ireland with Skellig Michael Islands uniqueness. Skellig Michael Islands is one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen and I just can’t recommend it enough, just contact us here at Skellig Michael Cruises and we will plan for you this fantastic experience.

Enjoy bird watching in Skellig Michael Islands

Hosting the largest gannet colony in Ireland and only second world-wide, Skellig Michael Islands is by far a best place for viewing birds. It is estimated that the islands hosts more than 27,000 pairs of birds. Birds’ eggs and birds themselves are believed to be the foods for the ancient islands Monks.

Welcome to Skellig Michael Islands | Skellig Michael Cruises

I hope you have enjoyed the amazing history of these magnificent islands. At Skellig Michael Cruises we do multiple trips to the islands every day. Contact Paul Devane now and we can plan your Skellig Michael Islands trip that will be of a lifetime experience. Thanks J

 

 

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Destinations of interest in Ireland Part II

Destinations of interest in Ireland Part II

Destinations of interest in Ireland Part II | Skellig Michael Cruises

Hello guys thank you guys for joining me once again in this second part of destinations of interest in Ireland. In the last post I took you through some of the attractions in Ireland and I hope the information I shared with you will be helpful in planning your holiday. I would also like to remind & inform you guys that Skellig Michael Cruises offer boat tours around the breathtaking Skellig Islands twice everyday from the small fishing village of Portmagee. Ok guys lets go on exploring the destinations of interests in Ireland.

Why visit Ireland

Attracting more than 6 million tourists annually, Ireland was voted favourite holiday destination in the world by readers of Frommer’s Guide, while lonely planet named Ireland the world’s friendliest country. Cork city was also listed among top ten cities in the world by lonely planet. Ireland is the great destination to enjoy;

  • Coastlines and resorts,
  • Festivals and events,
  • Geological tourism,
  • Amazing ancient histories,
  • Wildlife parks.

Places of interest

Once again be warned that I still can’t get around to all the attractions the emerald isle has to offer. In this post so today I will speak of the following four destinations of interest in Ireland;

Killarney National Park

Established as early as in 1932, this was the first national park in Ireland. Spanning about 25,400 acres, Killarney national park is famous for diverse ecology including Killarney Lake, oak lake, as well as yew woodlands not to mention the vast herd of red deer. 

Enjoy amazing ancient tales on Killarney

Killarney national park is also rich in ancient history. This has given this park a spot among destinations of interest in Ireland. The famous Irish poets of 17th and 18th centuries Seafraidh O’Donoghue, Aogan O Rathaille and Eoghan Rua O Suilleabhain were buried in this park. It is also narrated that during Norman invasion of Ireland the monks used to flee to Mangerton Mountain in this park when the monastery was attacked. With the spectacular Torc Waterfall, the park has a lot to offer and worthy of a visit.

Kerry cliffs

Kerry Cliffs are widely accepted as the most spectacular cliffs in Kerry. The cliffs stand over 1000ft above the wild Atlantic and were formed in a desert environment 400 million years ago.  Out to the west stand the amazing Skellig Rocks one of only three UNESCO world heritage sites in Ireland. Of course the Kerry Cliffs are the closest viewing point to the great rocks and also close the famous Puffin Island, where almost 10,000 Atlantic puffins reside.

Kerry County Museum

Established in 1991, Kerry County Museum is home to various archaeological objects, impressive dioramas, crafted models and loads of informative wall displays that narrate the ancient story of Kerry’s people and landscape that will leave you amazed; Expect to see the following listed but not the last;

  • Lissroe bronze horn that is over 3000 BC years old was found in bog in Lissroe near Duagh,
  • Cloghermore Collection showing collection of domestic items used by ancestors, who lived in Cloghermore Cave many years ago,
  • 1916 Proclamation is an original copy of the proclamation of republic issued by the Irish volunteers and Irish citizen army during the Easter rising.  

Kilmalkedar Church

Another place of interest in Ireland which is Located about 8km from Dingle, County Kerry. This spectacular early Christian centre has attracted visitors for years now. The ruins of this ancient church are spread across an area of about 10 acres. Visitors have consistently enjoyed examining the 12th century Hiberno-Romanesque church and several artefacts, large stone cross and loads of amazing story on the early church.

Welcome to explore destinations of interest in Ireland | Skellig Michael Cruises

Thank you for reading this post guys, I will keep you updated on more destinations of interest in Ireland in the coming posts. Now you know about beautiful Ireland, wait no more guys, book your trip now and explore Skellig Islands for an experience of lifetime.

I hope to see you soon with us. Thank you.

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Destinations of Interest in Ireland | Skellig Michael Cruises

Destinations of Interest in Ireland

Destinations of Interest in Ireland 

For so many years now Ireland has being attracting visitors from all over the world and left them absolutely spell bounded. Ireland has an embarrassment of natural attractions that will match your specific holiday needs, not to mention the ancient history of some parts of Ireland that will leave you awe-inspired.

In this post I am going to tell you about destinations of interest in this Ireland. This will educate you holiday maker with information you require when planning your trip to Ireland.

Skellig Islands

Lying about 13 km West of Bolus Head on beautiful Iveragh peninsula in County Kerry, these are two small but very steep rocky islands that have attracted huge interest from travellers over the years. Great Skellig or Skellig Michael is the larger of these two islands and the smaller one is small Skelligs. Apart from enjoying these astonishing islands, you will also have unrivalled bird watching opportunity. The islands are famous for hosting a wide varity of birds for example; black legged kittiwake, common guillemot, northern gannet, and Northern fulmar just to name a few.

With the Great Skellig rising to over 200 metres above sea level, the two islands which have hosted films like star wars and force awakens are recognised as UNESCO world heritage site. With their impressive ancient history like the 7th century history on the Christian monastery on the islands, Skellig Michael has claimed a top spot among places of interests in Ireland. Skellig Michael Cruises can give you a cruise of lifetime.

Boyne Valley

The Boyne castle in County Meath is renowned as one of the historic sites and monuments in Ireland. This world heritage site is the largest as well as one of most important compound of megalithic sites in whole Europe. This site which is believed to be built before Egyptian pyramids is a complex of amazing Neolithic mounds, standing stones, henges and chamber tombs just to name a few is another place of interest in Ireland.

The Ring of Kerry

This 179 kilometres-long extraordinary tourist route in County Kerry will give you the real image of Ireland. Passing around ancient monuments, spectacular gardens, stunning scenery of villages and towns has made this popular route among places of interest in Ireland. Natural beauty of this land is unsurpassed guys as its flora and fauna, unspoiled beach and the general scenery of the environment around this driving route are just out of this worldJ.

Aran Islands

Located at the mouth of Galway bay, they are a group of three spectacular islands that are among top destinations of interests in Ireland. The islands’ beautiful limestone rocks are over 350 millions years old are dramatic and I telling you guys the islands are worth paying a visit to. The Islands’ locals have carefully preserved the ways of past and their desire is mainly making their living much the same with the way their ancestors did. The way the islanders live here has made the islands the place of interest in Ireland.

And many more Destinations of Interest in Ireland

As I told you earlier, Ireland is full of places of interest that I can’t get around to all in a single post. I encourage you to visit this site regularly for the next post and I promise to educate you with more informative pieces of information that will give you a wide knowledge on the places of interests around Ireland and eventually help you on deciding the Destinations of Interest in Ireland for you  .

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