Amazing heritage, natural wonders - and film sets!

Skellig, off the coast of Portmagee, Co Kerry, a favourite with fans of Star Wars.

We are singularly blessed in Ireland with echoes of the past, from the prehistoric (standing stones, dolmens, ogham carvings, burial mounds, stone circles) to medieval (ancient castles) and beyond.

Academics purr over these priceless relics, and visitors from abroad are enthralled by them. If we value our heritage, we should perhaps appreciate them better, visit more of them, find out what is known about their purpose.