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The East & Southeast Coast |
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Ireland,
The East & Southeast Coast The East & Southeast Coast: Dublin: , the capital city of Ireland, is spread over the broad valley of the River Liffey around Dublin Bay in a great sweep of coast from the rocky brow of Howth in the north to the headland of Dalkey in the south, and sheltered by the Wicklow Hills. In addition to its imposing public buildings, Dublin is particularly rich in architecture of the 18th century with fine Georgian mansions, wide streets and spacious squares. There are fashionable shopping centres and a range of cultural and sporting entertainments. From the city it is just a short journey to the Dublin Mountains or to one of the beaches. There are many public parks in Dublin, the most famous of which is Phoenix Park at the western edge of the city. Originally priory land, it became a royal deer park in the 17th century. It is home to the Irish President and the US ambassador to Ireland. The park is noted for the Viceroy Lodge and a 61m (200ft) obelisk erected in tribute to the Duke of Wellington in 1817. The park, with a circumference of 11km (7 miles), has a network of roads and many quiet walks running through it. There is a zoo near the main entrance and an area known as The Fifteen Acres (but actually covering about 200), once the old duelling grounds, but now used as playing fields. A full programme of sightseeing tours of Dublin (all year) and surrounding areas (in summer) is operated by Bus Eireann. Walking tours or 'Tourist Trails' are signposted in the city centre. These tours are contained in a special booklet giving maps and background information on points of interest along the routes and details of approved Dublin and national guides; for details of these and the many evening entertainments, see the daily newspapers or enquire at the Tourist Information Office. Housed in the west wing of Leinster House, The National Gallery has over 2000 paintings. The National Museum has a collection of Irish antiquities from the Stone Age to medieval times. The most famous exhibits include the 8th-century Ardagh Chalice and Tara Brooch and the 12th-century Cross of Cong. There is also a room devoted to the Easter Rising and War of Independence. Other museums worth visiting include the Dublin Civic Museum; the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art; the National Library of Ireland and the Royal Irish Academy Library. Trinity College Library houses the 8th-century Book of Kells and the finest collection of early illuminated manuscripts in Ireland. Trinity College is the city's most famous landmark. Founded by Elizabeth I in 1591, it is noted for its cobbled stone quadrangles and imposing grey college buildings. Dublin Castle, the seat of British administration from the 12th century to the 1920s, can be found on high ground west of Dame Street and Christ Church Cathedral, one of the city's finest historical buildings, located at the end of Lord Edward Street. Dublin has facilities for most major sports. The national hurling and Gaelic football finals (September) and the Dublin Horse Show (August) are outstanding among the city's sporting events. There is horseracing at two suburban courses and at other venues within easy reach, rugby at Landsdowne Road and greyhound racing for most of the year on six evenings a week at one of the two Dublin tracks. The golfer has about 30 excellent courses to choose from. Sea bathing is available at nearby resorts, and there are municipal indoor heated swimming pools in the city and suburbs. Theatre is always available in Dublin. The principal theatres are the Abbey, Peacock, Gate, Gaiety, Olympia and New Eblana. During the summer the Gaiety and the Olympia provide a season of variety and revue with well-known Irish and visiting artists, and occasional weeks of light opera and drama presented by first-class performers. The Gate is concerned mainly with producing the internationally recognised classics, and has a special feeling for the work of Irish writers of sophisticated comedy - such as Goldsmith, Sheridan, Wilde and Shaw. The New Eblana is a small theatre which has been acclaimed for its productions of modern plays. The National Theatre of Ireland is the Abbey, where the programme consists almost entirely of new plays by Irish authors interspersed with revivals from the repertoire, which includes Yeats, Synge, O'Casey, Boucicault, Behan and Beckett. In the same building, the smaller Peacock Theatre provides the Abbey Players with an opportunity for experimental work. The shows of Lambert Mews Theatre are directed and produced by the famous Lambert puppeteers. The theatre seats 100 people and is 10km (6 miles) from the city centre. Performances are nightly with two matinées weekly for children. All these theatres perform Monday to Saturday; bookings should be made in advance. The Projects Arts Centre presents drama, poetry readings and recitals at lunchtime and in the evening. These are very popular with student visitors (also open Sunday). The National Concert Hall, Earlsport Terrace, provides high-quality concerts throughout the year. South of Dublin, Waterford is a bustling maritime county, dotted with small fishing villages, beaches and numerous well-developed resorts along its scenic coastline. Waterford is perhaps best known for its world-famous hand-cut crystal and the Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre, the region's most visited tourist attraction, offers a range of tours to provide visitors with an insight into local crystal art. Other attractions in Waterford City include the City Heritage Museum, the Lismore Heritage Centre, Reginalds Tower Museum as well as two cathedrals, exhibitions in the city hall and some interesting glassworks. The burial place of Richard Strongbow and his Irish wife Eva can be found here. A special Waterford City Tour is available from the tourist information centre. A short distance from the city is the village of Passage East, where Richard landed in 1170, an event which was to bind together the fortunes of England and Ireland. Nearby Lismore, a designated Heritage Town, contains a double 7th-century monastery, a cathedral dating from 1633 and the Ballysaggatmore Towers, which are imposing Gothic buildings located in pleasant woodland, a popular destination for picnics. Other historic buildings in the vicinity include a monastery at Ardmore and an Augustinian Abbey in Dungarvan. Further north, Meath and Louth (the smallest of the 32 counties), between Dublin and the border, are lush and wooded counties with many fine beaches and, particularly in Louth, rugged cliffs rising out of the sea. The Cooley Peninsula in Louth has a beautiful coastline and is the setting of one of the oldest legends of Irish literature, the Táin Bó Cuailnge (the Cattle Raid of Cooley). Meath contains the greatest wealth of historical remains in the country including Tara, the seat of Celtic Ireland, 10th-century high crosses, and the largest Norman fortress in Ireland at Trim. Wicklow, south of the capital, is known as 'the Garden of Ireland'. It is also rich in stately homes and in reminders of Ireland's early medieval Christian heritage. In the hinterland of County Wicklow and County Dublin are the Wicklow Mountains. Further south from Wicklow is Wexford, also a fertile farming region, surrounded by hills and rivers and is famous for its Opera Festival. EXCURSIONS: Newgrange,: Dowth, Knowth and Meath are the most important of the group of around 40 Stone Age monuments known as the Brú Na Bóinne. These burial chambers, known as passage graves, predate the pyramids. The Cooley Peninsula (Louth) is good for hill walks. In the Dublin environs Howth Castle and Malahide Castle, Dun Laoghaire (pronounced 'Dun Leary'), Russborough and Castletown House and the Archbishop's ruined castle at Swords are all worth seeing. RESORTS: : The eastern seaboard has some 400km (250 miles) of fine, silvery sand beaches running from the Mountains of Mourne to the port of Waterford. Duncannon: is a pleasant holiday town with a good beach and a rocky coast to the south. There is good walking and little traffic to the end of the peninsula. The area is ideal for those looking for isolated spots. The two finest sandy beaches are Booley Strand and Dollar Bay. Fethard-on-Sea is a quiet village on Hook Peninsula with a good beach. Rosslare is best known for its 10km (6-mile) beach backed by dunes and pleasant countryside. Curracloe has a very long beach backed by interesting countryside. Kilmuckridge is known for its excellent beach with fine sand backed by Old World Village. Blackwater is a picturesque village with a sandy beach. Ballymoney is situated 5km (3 miles) north of Courtown. There is a good beach backed by dunes here. Arklow, a seaport town, has safe bathing on fine sandy beaches at North and South Strands. Johnstown Strand and Ennereilly Strand are also good bathing places. It has an amusement centre with swimming pool. Brittas Bay has an excellent beach of fine sand. Dun Laoghaire is a large, residential town with bathing, yachting, etc. There is a beach at Seapoint and outdoor pool open from May-August. The famous 'Forty-Foot' swimming place is at Sandycove. The beach at Sandycove Harbour is also popular. Howth is a fishing village. There is good bathing from Balscadden Beach (shingle) and Claremont Strand (sand). Ireland's Eye, a little island 2km (1 mile) offshore, has some delightful bathing coves. There is also an old stone church here on the site of a 6th-century monastery and an 18th-century Martello tower. Portmarnock: Popular seaside resort with an excellent beach. Malahide: Popular seaside area with a good sandy beach. Skerries is a well-known north Dublin bathing place with a good beach and island rocks of that name. Balbriggan is a coastal town with a good beach. Blackrock in County Louth has a wide shallow beach and no cliffs. Carlingford has a small shingle and sand beach on Carlingford Lough. Nearby is the scenic village of Omeath with a shingle beach. Donabate has a ruined castle and safe sandy beaches and leads to Lambay Island, the scene of the first Viking raid in 795. Rush: Seaside resort with safe sandy beaches. Clogher Head has outstanding views of the Mountains of Mourne and Skerries. There is also a wide sandy beach safe for bathing. Ardmore is a charming resort with an extensive sandy beach. There is a medieval cathedral and round tower with spectacular views over Ardmore Bay. Tramore, a busy seaside resort, has a 5km (3-mile) beach and excellent entertainment facilities. Dunmore East has an attractive harbour, headlands, cliffs and coves. |