Sink a pint and see the sun rise top Ireland’s must-do list

IF you do anything before your time is up then you really must get lost in Connemara and try to see the sun rise on the winter solstice at Newgrange, Co Meath.

And, according to the Rough Guide’s list of 25 must-do things in Ireland and Britain, you also ought to make a beeline for the beehive huts at Co Kerry’s world heritage site at Skellig Michael island, and find time for a pint of Guinness in Dublin.

Yesterday the publishers of the popular and informal Rough Guide travel books launched a slim 80-page volume listing the top attractions here and over at the neighbours’ place.

Researchers found five things to do in Ireland before you die compared to 20 in Britain but ranked a visit to Belfast’s sectarian murals in the same league as the Edinburgh Festival, watching a match at Old Trafford and clubbing in London. Rough Guide editor, Mark Ellingham, said the latest travel book was aimed at getting Irish and British residents to look a little closer at the treasures on their doorstep.

“When we think of holidays, a lot of people immediately associate this with going abroad. But, believe it or not, you don’t actually need to jump on a plane to have an amazing time,” he said.

Priced around €5, the volume commends visitors to Newgrange to enter the lottery to see the sun rise on the winter solstice in December.

Last year 27,485 people entered the lottery to become one of 10 winners allowed in the tomb to watch the sun illuminate the inside of the historic treasure.

Faced with the odds of waiting such a long time to win, visitors could well be better off heading to the Pale and ordering a pint of plain before they die.

www.roughguides.com