Iconic heritage sites in Munster to visit now OPW has waived fees
Fota House, Cork
Often bypassed by families making tracks for the neighbouring wildlife park, Fota Arboretum & Gardens offers an idyllic alternative day out in East Cork. The historic estate features walled gardens, a stunning orangery and endless picnic lawns, while the period house is a worthy contender for Home of the Year (circa 1750).
Admission: free; parking €3
Refreshments: Bakestone Café on site.
Looking for wide-open spaces, period drama and native wildlife? Then pack the picnic hamper for a day-trip to North Cork. With its 400 acres of parkland capped by an 18th Georgian mansion, you can expect Downton Abbey — Doneraile style — with a visit. Explore the main house which showcases 13 generations worth of the St Leger family’s art and furnishing; or stroll the parklands if game for a little deer-spotting.
Admission: Free (Usually house tour €8, parklands free)
Refreshments: tea rooms on site or Café Townhouse in Doneraile.
They’re the ramparts that ramp up the views. Star-shaped Charles Fort, one of the best preserved fortifications in Ireland wows from the start with incredible views of Kinsale Harbour. Take a tour here and learn about the site’s storied past as a British barracks for 200 years. Sunny day? Take the 5km Scilly trail to and from Kinsale to make an outing of it.
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Saint Francis Provisions in Kinsale for a cuppa or better still, lunch!
In these staycation times, Glengarriff’s microclimate gifts us a much-needed taste of exotica. And nowhere more so than on gorgeous Garinish. The garden island offers a veritable Eden of horticultural and architectural gems, all thanks to the creative partnership of the island’s former owners Annan and Violet Bryce and architect Harold Peto. Keep an eye out for seals on the short ferry crossing!
Admission: Free (Usually €5); ferry €12.50
Refreshments: café on site.
Dating from 1209, Dungarvan’s harbourside castle takes visitors to the dawn of Anglo-Norman settlement in Ireland. Built to safeguard the town, the castle features an impressive curtain wall, a corner tower and gate tower. But venture beyond those walls and you’ll also find a museum located within a military barracks, used by the British Army and Royal Irish Constabulary until 1922.
Admission: free
Refreshments: Interlude, Dungarvan.
Little surprise that Ireland’s oldest city hosts Ireland’s oldest civic building. Originally the site of a wooden Viking fort, Reginald’s Tower is another Anglo-Norman settlement to the Déise’s heritage bow. Its 800 years have seen it utilised as a mint under King John, as a military storehouse for weapons, gunpowder and cannons — and today it hosts Waterford’s Viking Treasures Museum.
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Everett’s or Seagull Bakery’s brand new city outlet.
One of the newer buildings in the Heritage Ireland fold, Derrynane House was home to the O’Connell family for generations and where the young Daniel was raised. Today the period house displays unique relics of O’Connell’s life from a chariot presented to him by the citizens of Dublin to the very bed in which he passed away in 1847. A great Ring of Kerry stop for history buffs (and lovers of interiors).
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Café on site or Fox in the Box, Cahirsiveen.
Far-flung on Dún Chaoin, at the very tip of the Dingle Peninsula, the Blasket Centre tells the sceál of the gallant gaeilgeoir community who lived there until the mid-20th century. Fascinating exhibits highlight their history, one where emigration and decline led to their evacuation to the mainland in 1953. Consider a visit whether venturing onwards to the islands or not.
Admission: Free (Usually: €5)
Refreshments: Europe’s most westerly café is on site!
One of Ireland’s most photogenic castles, Ross Castle sits on inlet of Lough Leane like a quintessential postcard (or ‘Gram shot). Built the chieftain O’Donoghue Mór in the 15th century, the castle hosts guided tours of Munster’s last defence against Cromwell. If you don’t have a head for history, you can explore its magnificent grounds for free.
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Newly-opened Nave Coffee House.
One of Ireland’s most legendary saints, St Brendan the Navigator hailed from the Ardfert area of North Kerry, founding a monastery here in the 6th century before embarking on his Atlantic odyssey. He inspired the building of the three medieval churches that stand on this site today, from a stunning Romanesque chapel to Ardfert Cathedral, famed for its 13th-century window.
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Salty Souls at Banna Beach.
County Limerick is home to some of Ireland’s finest Desmond castles with the county featuring three Heritage Ireland castles to feast your eyes on — all within touring distance of each other. is billed as one of the finest medieval secular buildings in Ireland and is noted for its banqueting hall and exquisite fireplace.
For a more restored vision, features a restored banquet hall — complete with throne — while a climb atop the tower reveals spectacular views of the battlements and beyond.
For a further jewel in the crown, the heritage town Adare features its own medieval masterpiece. , with its gorgeous location along the Maigue River, was where the lords of the time lived it up while controlling traffic along the Shannon Estuary. Take a guided tour inside or photograph its stunning façade (there’s also a gorgeous Augustinian Friary across the river too!).
Admission: Askeaton & Newcastle West are free; Adare is now free (Usually €10)
Refreshments: Marguerite’s or Sonas in Newcastle West or the new Treehouse at Adare’s Woodland Hotels
The Tipperary town of Cahir offers two gorgeous heritage sites within strolling distance of each other. Cahir Castle with its idyllic riverside setting spirals visitors through centuries of history.
Afterwards, take the scenic Coronation trail to the Swiss Cottage, once the vacation home of Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall, it’s a great spot to snoop at how the other half lived — think a touch of Martha’s Vineyard in Tipp.
Admission: Free (Usually €5 for each site)
Refreshments: The Lazy Bean, Cahir.
Love a good relic? As a destination for pilgrims for centuries, stunning Holy Cross Abbey near Thurles, makes a sacred stop-off on a Munster road-trip. Pilgrims travelled here for eight centuries to venerate a piece of the True Cross of Christ’s crucifixion which, after being stolen in 2011, sits on display here to admire once again.
Admission: Free (Usually €5 donation for tours)
Refreshments: Rusticafé, Thurles.
Tipperary has more Heritage Ireland sites than any county beyond Dublin — and the Rock of Cashel is known as 'High King' of them all. Once the capital of Munster, The Rock features Ireland’s largest cluster of medieval sites with its gothic cathedral, stunning round tower and the country’s most complete Romanesque chapel. Camus Road also offers great long distance photo opps of The Rock.
Admission: Free (Usually €8)
Refreshments: Thanxalatte or The Bake House in Cashel.
It’s Tipperary meets The Tudors. A 16th-century extension to an original medieval fort, Ormond Castle in Carrick-on-Suir is said to be the finest example of an Elizabethan manor house in Ireland. The castle was restored in recent years where a traditional lime render has given it a fresh-faced but authentic feel. Inside, the magnificent hall is a wonder.
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Cafewest in Carrick.
You’ll find one of the region’s lesser-known Heritage Ireland sites, located in a remote farmhouse near Ballingarry, Co. Tipperary. The scene of the Young Irelander Rebellion in 1848, it was at this site where a group of rebels besieged a troop of British police officers before they were eventually overcome. Today the farmhouse is a museum highlighting that fateful night and the failed nationalist plight during the Famine.
Admission: free
There’s more than just the Aran Islands of the Clare coastline! Reachable via ferry from Kilrush, Scattery Island in the Shannon estuary is home to one of best early-Christian sites in Ireland. Established by St. Senan in 555AD, the island features churches, a round tower and a gorgeous smattering of cottages, all creating a dreamy island aesthetic.
Admission: free; ferry from €12 (weather dependent)
Refreshments: The Potter’s Hand, Kilrush.
For your next Burren road-trip, how 'abbot' a stop-off at Ennis Friary? Home to 350 monks and 600 pupils in 1375, this Franciscan well of education was once one of Europe’s top learning hubs. Today, you can enjoy a guided tour of this site with highlights including the roofed nave exhibition area and a trove of 15th century carvings, not least one of St Francis himself.
Admission: Free (Usually €5)
Refreshments: Kaiféin.
- Other Heritage Ireland sites in Munster include The Main Guard in Clonmel, Listowel Castle and Roscrea Heritage Centre.
- However, Barryscourt Castle in Carrigtwohill and Desmond Castle in Kinsale remain closed for ongoing renovations while the reopening of Skellig Michael remains under review.
- For updated reopening info on all attractions, see heritageireland.ie
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