Ireland's national monuments, which have a guide service, operated at a loss of nearly €7 million last year.

A young girl has been airlifted from the Rock of Cashel in Co Tipperary today after suffering injuries in a fall.

Illustrated by Richard Mills, this compendium by Jo Kerrigan takes us on journeys some may never have known existed. It’s a historical travelogue that will inspire explorers, writes Majella Flynn

A rare mea culpa. In pronouncing, before it started, the new Munster Hurling Championship the Best League in the World, it turns out, in hindsight, that I was grossly understating things. I was selling it short.

Forts and Martello towers dotted around Cork Harbour and what was once the biggest gunpowder factory in the British empire could soon be designated as Unesco World Heritage sites.

The Rock of Cashel and numerous other abbeys were among those to sustain damage last year, according to the Office of Public Works (OPW).

Imagine celebrating Ireland’s national apostle, not in March, but in high summer.

WHEN he was 12, Kevin Moran decked an opponent a foot taller than him on a football field in Athlone because he felt a teammate had been fouled. He has been known as “Boxer” ever since.

Details of Cork’s top tourist attractions have been extolled from the ramparts of a historic fort.

Hook Lighthouse was a victim of its own success last year with visitors queuing for up to two hours at times to take a tour — so this year online ticketing has been introduced.

A campaign has been launched in Tipperary to purchase a castle in which the ancestors of both Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana once lived.

Tourism ambassadors have, for the first time, begun selling Cork city’s visitor attractions to passengers on board the luxury cruise ships calling to the Port of Cork in a bid to capture a slice of an estimated €12m market.

Laying their eggs from March to June, cock stonechats will be threatened by the Heritage Bill 2016 allowing upland burning in march, writes Damien Enright.

Tourism advocate John G Dwyer says modest investment is needed to counter the imbalance in tourism spending in the wilderness between high-flying Dublin and the western seaboard

ANYONE who remembers the visit of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip to Ireland in May 2011 will recall not just the grandeur of events in Dublin Castle an Áras an Uachtaráin but also their trip to the Rock of Cashel, the National Stud in Kildare, and the Coolmore Stud in Co Tipperary.

John Creedon is back on our screens on Sunday, and this time he’s getting to grips with the East. Series producer Marie Toft reveals the highlights of their summer road-trip.

Traders in Cork City are losing out on millions of euro of business by not tapping into the lucrative luxury cruise passenger market which arrives on their doorsteps every year.

Visitor numbers to national heritage sites rose 11% last year to more than 4.9m.

The arrest of a man who was accused of IRA membership was yesterday ruled unlawful by the Special Criminal Court.

The Special Criminal Court trial of a man accused of IRA membership has heard evidence of telephone calls warning of explosive devices at University College Cork and the Rock of Cashel in May 2011.

Surely all investment should be accompanied by a highly public cost benefit analysis before we commit, writes Fergus Finlay

The Coalition has denied there is a rift over how many refugees Ireland can accept amid contradictory signals from Government.

Six destinations on the island of Ireland have been named on a global must-see list for tourists.

The future of a partly developed hotel and holiday complex, within sight of the Rock of Cashel, will be decided at a full High Court hearing as a result of South Tipperary County Council losing its case to have preliminary issues clarified first.

The Guinness Storehouse, the Cliffs of Moher, and Dublin Zoo had more than 1m visitors each last year as some of the country’s top attractions showed rising interest.

HOTELS in Cork, Kerry, Clare and Tipperary all feature in the latest burst of investor and end-user activity in the hospitality sector market.

Built for an archbishop, and later putting up European and Hollywood royalty, Tipperary’s historic Cashel Palace Hotel comes on the market this week.

Fáilte Ireland have released the promo video for their new venture, Ireland’s Ancient East and it promises magic, myth and history for future visitors.

TIME was when the traditional Irish thatched cottage was associated with rural poverty. Then, there was a change in perception when photographer John Hinde — a man who always portrayed Ireland as a land of perpetual sunshine and blue skies — came along. His postcards featuring such cottages went all over the world.

Ruby’s Best Bets

The Cork tenor is celebrating a quarter of a century as a professional singer, writes Dan Buckley

Tipperary’s Dundrum House Hotel, a Georgian country mansion with golf resort and holiday homes on 220 acres near the M8, has been put up for sale by a receiver with a €2.75 million price guide.

The delights of city, seaside and even skiing can be enjoyed on a visit to the Spanish city of Granada says Catherine Shanahan.

Plans to develop a stately home and 400-acre park into one of the country’s top tourist attractions have already received a major boost.

HERE is a transcript of the Queen’s banquet speech for the state visit of President Michael D Higgins:

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II has said that Britain and Ireland shall “no longer allow our past to ensnare our future” at a historic state banquet in honour of President Michael D Higgins.

The goal of living together as neighbours and friends is now within reach, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II said a State banquet in honour of Irish President Michael D Higgins tonight.

The OPW is offering couples intending on getting married in a civil ceremony the option of tying the knot at one of the countries heritage sites.

Lord Of Lords, who missed what looked a suitable opportunity because of a stone bruise at Wexford nine days ago, has obviously made a quick recovery and gets the nap in the Holycross Maiden Hurdle at Thurles this afternoon.

The cash-strapped Office of Public Works is to open concessions, such as restaurants and playgrounds, at 17 of the country’s most popular heritage sites in order to generate funds to pay for all the heritage locations it operates across the country.

The new Irish passport includes verses in Ulster Scots as well as a map of the entire island for the first time.

The new Irish passport includes verses in Ulster Scots as well as a map of the entire island for the first time.

The Government is to unveil a redesigned Irish passport.

Complaints by the city of Limerick about an Irish Examiner advertising campaign for a recent crime series were thrown out by the Advertising Standards Authority as neither inaccurate nor misleading.

China’s number one travel blogger is visiting Ireland potentially showcasing the country to tens of millions of tourists in the Far East.

August is set to be the busiest month in 20 years for cruise ships stopping in Cork, which, it is estimated, will boost the local economy to the tune of €2m.

Anyone with an outdated tax disc may have got a fright yesterday morning if they were in the vicinity of Kilkenny Castle, as 160 motorcycle police officers gathered in force.

THE memories of Christmas may be fading, but that pudginess around the mid-riff is a lot harder to shake off.

Exploiting the US president’s Irish ancestry helped Ireland retain its influence on Capitol Hill, writes Ryle Dwyer