From Great Skellig and the Aran Islands to the Giant's Causeway, JOHN G O'DWYERchooses 10 of Ireland's most memorable experiences
1 Over the ocean to a monastic high
Tourist experiences are becoming increasing bland, but this is the real deal. A 12km open boat journey from the south Kerry coast, with face-stinging spray, is just as it was for the early Celtic monks a millennium or more ago. Having passed by the huge colonies of gannets whitening Little Skellig, you know you’ve escaped cotton-wool society when you make the precarious leap to the landing slip and then a vertigo-inducing 700 steps to the monastic eyrie. It’s worth it, though, for you won’t need a poetic imagination to understand the relentless will to sustain life on this barren, storm-lashed rock. Return with a renewed respect for the doughty determination of our ancient ancestors and a clearer perspective on the relative triviality of modern problems.
2 Ireland’s most challenging mountain circuit
Scrambling isn’t just rock-climbing for slow learners, it’s an endeavour in itself, employing hands and feet to move easily and naturally on steep rock. If you fancy having a go, then the circuit of Kerry’s Hags Glen is just for you. But be warned: to complete this memorable circuit you need to be extremely fit, have a good head for heights and be a competent navigator. Otherwise you need to be accompanied by a competent mountain leader or a local guide. The walk begins from the well- appointed Cronin’s Yard, which is about 16km from Killarney and leads you over the Big Gun, regarded as Ireland’s most difficult-to-reach mountain top. The summits of Beenkeragh (Ireland’s second highest peak) and Carrauntoohil come later in the day. And along the way several knife-edge ridges give the impression of ascending the teeth of a giant elevated saw. The adrenalin rush is tremendous, and if you get around successfully the bragging rights are almost as good.
3 Step back in time
The distinctive culture of the Aran Islands has attracted tourists for generations. Inishmore and Inisheer are hugely popular with day trippers arriving and departing in great tidal waves. The middle island has, however, remained aloof, a genuine outpost of Gaelic civilisation where Irish is still the dominant tongue. The beauty of Inishmaan is that there isn’t very much to do in the touristy sense. So the simple pleasures take precedence, such as enjoying the enchanting ocean views or exchanging the occasional dia dhuit with the self-effacing locals. You won’t, however, absorb the special atmosphere unless you stay a couple of nights. Then you’ll have time to walk Inishmaan Way, explore the great stony desert on the south of the island, visit the improbably lavish fort of Dún Chonchúir or simply sit and meditate at the clifftop seat where JM Synge found inspiration for his greatest plays. At night, find out about the island by eating with your host and then head down for an intimate session in the island’s only pub.
4 Discover our most captivating coastline
Routed along the king of Irish shorelines, this walk explores the multilayered sagas of the Co Antrim coast between Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge and the Giant’s Causeway. The powerfully evocative trail, which is drenched with history, recalls ancient childhood tales of Finn McCool and the Children of Lir. Along the way you will have beguiling views to Rathlin Island and Scotland’s Mull of Kintyre while also encountering the picturesque villages of Portbradden and Ballintoy Harbour. Later come the spectacularly located remains of Dunseverick Castle and Port na Spaniagh Bay, where the Spanish galleon Girona foundered, causing the loss of 1,300 lives but creating a golden windfall for locals. And can you think of a better way to end a walk than at the Giant’s Causeway, a Unesco World Heritage site where ancient stones have been moulded to outlandish formations?
5 Bike and boat the Kerry outback
The Gap of Dunloe is Ireland’s most stunning valley, with achingly beautiful scenery and easy access. For a genuine, and not overly expensive, experience of this rocky wonderland, hire a bicycle in Killarney and cycle 12km to Kate Kearney’s Cottage; continue for 10km through the Gap of Dunloe to Lord Brandon’s Cottage. Here you can take a boat, which accommodates bikes, through the three lakes of Killarney and back to fully restored Ross Castle, which is worth a visit before you embark on the final 15-minute spin to Killarney. If you feel your quads won’t stand the strain of pedalling such distances, take a bus to Kate Kearney’s, then hire a jaunting car for a leisurely excursion enlivened by tall tales from the jarvey en route to the boat at Lord Brandon’s.
6 Clonmacnoise the original way
In poetry it is described as “a quiet watered land, a land of roses”, and undoubtedly St Kieran chose this place for its solitude. Yet, these days, the rural lanes and grimly purposeful parking facilities serving Clonmacnoise are regularly choked with buses and cars. Avoid this hassle by coming to the site that was once the beating heart of Irish monasticism in the way the founder surely intended. In summer take the Silver Line cruiser River Queen from picturesque Shannonbridge and follow upstream the meandering sweep of Ireland’s greatest river to a landing place beside the monastic site. Along the way you will pass the ecologically significant Shannon Callows, which in summer are a perfusion of wild flowers that offer a refuge to the corncrake, now one of Ireland’s most endangered species.
7 Discover solitude within our finest coum
Towered over on three sides by vertiginous cliffs, Coumshingaun is the finest example of a corrie lake on these islands. Thirty minutes’ walk from Kilclooney Wood car park, on the main Carrick-on-Suir to Dungarvan road, this is an ideal place to introduce young people to a glaciated environment without huge effort. It is impossible to circle the lake without mountaineering skills, but a walk along the right-hand shoreline is well rewarded. Directly above the far right-hand corner of the lake, rockfall has created a small cave system that kids will love exploring while adults take in the exquisite view. Absorb the serenity of this great rocky amphitheatre before returning to your parking place.
8 Follow an ancient pilgrim route
Trail walking is a branch of Irish tourism that consistently punches below its weight, with thousands of Irish hikers braving Spanish heat each summer to follow the footsteps of St James to Santiago de Compostela. Yet we have a little-known but equally evocative pilgrim trail in Ireland that you can complete in a long day – and won’t have to pay a king’s ransom to an airline if you forget your boarding card. Start at Ballintubber Abbey, where, by agreement with local farmers, groups (preferably of three or more) register with the abbot and pay a nominal €5 towards walk maintenance. Then follow the ancient pilgrim path for 35km across the rolling Mayo countryside, with the handsome pyramid of Croagh Patrick filling the horizon. It’s a sharpish slog up to the summit of our holiest mountain, but don’t complain: early pilgrims did the entire route barefoot.
9 Experience a magical equinox
To experience the solstice within the Newgrange burial chamber you need to be at least a special adviser to the Government or a lucky winner of the annual raffle for admission tickets. The rest of us can forget such mythical experiences – unless we head to the passage grave at Cairn T, in the Sliabh na Caillighe Hills near Oldcastle, in Co Meath. Here you can still park close by and then clamber up the hill to the burial chamber, which is illuminated by the rising sun at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Compared with Newgrange, the equinoxes at Cairn T are altogether more relaxed affairs. Helpful staff organise a relaxed queue on each occasion, ensuring everybody gets a turn inside the chamber.
10 Walk the wall
Walls built to divide people have been tumbling down recently, but those designed to support human endeavour remain. The Mourne Wall is one example. Built a century ago, to enclose the catchment area of the Silent Valley reservoir, it is crafted from natural granite and built using traditional drystone techniques. There is something wonderful in the way it reflects the Great Wall of China by undulating 35km over the High Mournes, passing 15 summits en route. An unforgettable outing is to follow the wall for its entire length, but if you don’t feel up to this, climb Slieve Donard – Ulster’s highest mountain, which is actually a modest enough ascent from Newcastle, Co Down – to see the great sweep of the wall, with the bonus of sublime vistas to the Isle of Man and the English Lake District.