Kilmainham captures tourists’ imagination
Blarney Castle and gardens in Cork — renowned worldwide for the famous stone that bestows eloquence — has been voted No 2 in the list of landmarks worth visiting in Ireland.
The Eask Tower in Dingle, Co Kerry, was named in third position. The solid stone tower on the top of Carhoo Hill overlooks Dingle harbour.
Kilmainham Gaol is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, were imprisoned and executed in the prison by the British, while supporters of the anti-Treaty cause in the Civil War met similar fates in 1923 at the hands of the Free State.
Attractions include a major exhibition detailing the political and penal history of the prison and its restoration.
“The Travellers’ Choice Landmarks, now in its third year, highlight some of the world’s most iconic, must-see attractions that have won over the TripAdvisor community,” said TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay.
This year, Dublin and Dingle tie for the most winners in Ireland’s top 10 with two each. As well as Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin boasts the Chester Beatty Library in fourth place, while the Eask Tower is joined by Dingle’s St James’ Church (where many performances of the Other Voices series were recorded) in 10th place.
The church is believed to have been built by the Spanish around the time of the great medieval pilgrimage to the shrine of St James of Compostella in the ninth century, and was dedicated to St James, the patron Saint of Spain.
When the Reformation reached Dingle in the 16th century, the church passed into Protestant hands.
Travellers’ Choice Landmarks awards honour top landmarks worldwide based on the millions of reviews and opinions from TripAdvisor travellers.
The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the life work of architect Antoni Gaudí, was voted Europe’s top landmark, followed by St Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Other structures considered to be exceptional included Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Alhambra in Granada, the Hagia Sophia Museum in Istanbul, the Charles Bridge in Prague, and the Grand-Place in Brussels, the central square in the city.
The top landmark in the world went to Angkor Wat, a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world. Peru’s Machu Picchu was second, the Taj Mahal third.
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