148 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Ireland - Atlas Obscura

Unusual
Attractions
in Ireland

Dublin, Ireland

The Long Room Library at Trinity College

The gorgeous library at Trinity College is home to remarkable treasures of Irish identity.

The Glen

A tiny microvalley etched into the side of Knocknarea Mountain hides another world.

Skellig Michael

Perfectly preserved ancient monastery in an impossibly dramatic location on a rocky island in the Atlantic.

Dublin, Ireland

St. Michan's Mummies

An Irish church where you can shake hands with an 800 year old mummy.

Kilkenny, Ireland

Dunmore Cave

This Irish show cave is said to have been the site of a Viking massacre that claimed 1,000 lives.

Newgrange

The ancient tomb acts as a calendar that keeps perfect time.

Galway, Ireland

Brigit's Celtic Garden

The world of the ancient Celtic civilization explained through a bewitching 11 acre garden.

Wicklow, Ireland

Victor's Way Indian Sculpture Park

An eccentric garden of Indian sculptures in the green of Ireland dedicated to Alan Turing.

See All 148 Things to Do in Ireland See All 148 Places

Unique
Food & Drink
in Ireland

Stinging Nettles

Boil away this plant's poisonous hairs, and you're left with a tasty, spinach-like leaf.

Blaa Bread

This adaption of French refugee bread is now a protected Irish specialty.

Bog Butter

Unearthed after centuries in peat bogs, these blocks of aged dairy have an incredibly funky flavor.

Colcannon

A hearty Irish staple that can tell your fortune.

See all 9 things to eat in Ireland See all 9 things to eat in Ireland

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Josephinepmz wants to go to Francis Bacon's Preserved Art Studio

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Stories
About Ireland

A 15th-century medical manuscript in Gaelic. No spaces here!

The Merriam-Webster of Medieval Irish Just Got a Major Update

A tiny group of scholars added 500 words and made 5,000 revisions to the Dictionary of the Irish Language.

by Sabrina Imbler

September 19, 2019

Fruitcake—something everyone gives, and no one wants.

The Fruitcake Prison Break That Reshaped Irish History

You'll never guess this dessert's key ingredient.

The view of one sculpture, “Cycles,” while inside of another, “Boora Convergence.”

How an Irish Bog Got a Second Life as a Sculpture Garden

At Lough Boora Discovery Park, visitors can meditate on the important role of these wetlands in Ireland.

The manuscript bound into the printed text.

Found: A Medical Manual Linking Medieval Ireland to the Islamic World

Knowledge transcends borders.

by Noor Al-Samarrai

The letters had been hidden beneath the gorse.

Ireland's Coast Has Giant, Hidden Signs Telling Pilots Where They Are

A wildfire has just uncovered one of these "Éire" signs from World War II.

by Sarah Laskow

The rings may have served as a kind of ancient currency.

Found: Mysterious Gold Ornaments, Buried in an Irish Country Field

The function of these ancient rings is not yet known.

by Natasha Frost

Path to Carrive Mass Rock.

The Secret Paths That Led Ireland’s Catholics to Forbidden Mass

Passages to salvation from a time of persecution.

by Anika Burgess

January 10, 2018

Beehive huts on Skellig Michael, looking across to Little Skellig.

The Real-World Architecture of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Hideaway

The huts of Ahch-To exist here on Earth.

by Alex Weinberg

January 2, 2018

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