Interesting place. We saw this on a trip out to the Boyne and the hill of Tara…read more Founded in 1142 by St Malachy of Amagh the abbey is on the banks of the river Mattock (near Drogheda- pronounced like drow-eh-da- stress on the drow, at least the way our tour guide said it) There's not much left, but it's lovely and makes for a great photography opportunity. It's haunting. The octagonal lavabo (1200) for washing (purification) is unusual- the monks washed their hands here before eating. The visitor center has an interesting exhibit on the work of masons.

Mellifont was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland, founded in 1142 on the orders of…read moreSaint Malachy, the Archbishop of Armagh. Sadly, little of the original Abbey remains, save a octagonal 13th-century lavabo, where the monks washed their hands before dinner - and this in a time when hygiene was not a top priority, even for men of God. There is a visitor's centre, and guided tours on request, but the abbey is only open to the public from May to September.

So the way that I travel, I like to rent a car and just drive around with my partner. The best way…read moreto experience a new country is just to live like everybody there. So as we were driving along, we found this beautiful park drove into and really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. There's a beautiful walkway that takes you down to this building. As we open the doors, there's a greeter and I asked her a little bit about what this whole experiences and she didn't really have much information to give me. So I said why not let's go ahead and see what we got ourselves into. There is a beautiful museum and there is a beautiful café with lots of different treats and sandwiches and entrées. There's also a gift shop that has really great gifts that you could give to family and friends a couple of the items we got were a wishing Stone and a worry stone. The experience did not stop there, you have to walk down this beautiful pathway where everything is green and luscious and you get to a bus stop. The bus comes and takes you down this roadway that leads you to what we found out was a tomb. It was a surprise to us that we found out that this tomb was actually one of the oldest tombs in the world, even older than the Egyptians. As we get to the property, we see a beautiful architectural, severe round building with one little small entrance. The entrance to the tomb is narrow but a large man can still fit through it to see the experience. As we come to find out, it was a tomb, possibly from a rich family and Ireland that controlled most of the land. The family had incest to keep the power within. All of these are possibilities they do not know because of how old this is. Once in the tomb, you get to see that there are three burial plots, and there's a light experience to show that once a year the sun hits a certain way and lightslights the tomb up for a period of time. After you're done with that, you get back on the bus and they take you back to the museum area where you can go ahead and have lunch or you can be done with experience altogether. This all lasted maybe an hour or two and really gave us something to do when we did not have anything planned. This whole experience cost us about $26 and was pretty nice and learned something new that I did not know before.

Impressive - Historical - Not to Be Missed…read more The Newgrange World Heritage Site is a prehistoric Neolithic passage tomb in County Meath, Ireland, older than Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza. Built around 3200 BCE, this massive circular mound of stones is famous for its alignment with the winter solstice, when the rising sun illuminates the central chamber for about 17 minutes. It is the main site in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Brú na Bóinne and contains intricate carvings, which are believed to have astronomical or spiritual significance. Our Mary Gibbon's led tour also visited the Knowth Megalithic Passage Tomb via the same shuttle bus system from the Brú Na Bóinne Visitor Centre. The 5000 year old main mound, known as Knowth Site 1 is contemporary with the mounds at Newgrange and nearby Dowth. The mounds are classified as Passage Tombs by archaeologists. There are also 18 smaller satellite mounds around the main Tomb. The Visitor's Centre includes well curated exhibits, a decent gift shop, and a cafeteria. It's best to hydrate up as the shuttle bus portion takes time, with only a couple lone bathrooms and no concessions en route.

Beautiful Harbour where you can watch the local seals catch fish which they eat off their bellies…read morebelow within the quiet harbour waters, while the fishermen look on, catch less! The harbour wall is great protection from the prevailing wind. There's a free car park and a coastal walk that takes you over to Clogherhead beach, and lovely places to sit and watch the sea on the black rocks behind the harbour. The public toilets aren't the best (no lock, no seat, stinky brown smeared door - but at least they had paper and a sink!) There is a fish shop here but we didn't buy anything as we were out for the day and the weather was too warm.

Fore Abbey is a 7th century abbey spread across the valley of ancient structures. The abbey complex…read moreincludes several notable features, such as the remains of the Benedictine monastery, St. Feichin's church, and the famous Fore Crosses. There are several ruins to explore on this stop.

For a ruin, this place was really in good shape. Most here are a pile of rocks that vaguely…read moreresembles a building. This one had rooms and working stairs. If you go, there is a big parking lot on the main road. You don't have to park on the street.

We only visited the Newgrange site. It was absolutely stunning. The visitor center is closed and…read morethe bus system is a little slow but eventually we got there. Our guide gave a talk and explained what we were about to see inside but was a bit short and impatient with us once we entered the tomb. The tours are timed precisely and there was a group right behind us so she hurried us along. We went with a tour group so everything was arranged ahead of time. Outside you can walk around the ruin. The scenery is beautiful all around. I'd love to see it again but tickets are difficult to get without a lot of planning. It's a must see site if you get the chance.

This is a fascinating archeological sight and if that were the only item being rated, it would…read moreclearly be five stars. However, the facilities and buses were very old and run down. Some of the outside stairways were closed due to crumbling concrete and metal railings were rusty with peeing paint. I would rate the facilities as two star. The tour of the mounds was fascinating. We only got to see two of the three since one was closed. The highlight was Bu na Boinne where we were taken inside and shown a recreation of the Summer Solstice. The tour guides were excellent and we enjoyed the the hours long tour. Back at the main facility, we had lunch. There was a choice of quiche and other prepared dishes that are reheated for you. Service was excellent and I would rate the food as three stars. It got the job done by keeping you from being hungry. It was a bit sad to see such a national treasure as this in such a rundown state. Someone or some government should step in and bring it back to its former glory. Even in its current sad state, it is well worth the trip to see it.

Do not park your car here!…read more Just not worth the risk. Our belongings were locked out of sight in the trunk of our rental car and while we were up on the hill, thugs smashed our window, released the back seat and took 2 backpacks containing personal items, ID, credit cards and passport. Don't park here. Quite an ordeal to experience in any location - especially one that is not your homeland.

Beautiful long walk down to the castle grounds with great views of the sea. The castle is…read moreinteresting and has unique features and coffee is decent. And if you walk a bit further towards the woods you with see a slightly worn fairy trail and there is a little hidden beach, which you can find if you follow the trail to the left and walk over an old bridge. A well hidden secret! Worth the visit.

The grounds are amazing! I was lucky enough to enjoy a private event held at the castle…read more Everything was catered and they hired a "circus". So I could see if you were having a wedding or something private this might be the perfect backdrop. They have a giant field to walk around, the castle itself is beautiful to take pictures. There is a vast garden too.

An amazing and quintessentially Irish prehistoric tomb. To gain access, you have to call to the…read morehouse of Mr. Fintan White (call 01 8354722 before 6pm) which is just a mile west of the Tomb -turn left at the Y-junction with the white and green house, go straight up the narrow track where the main road turns left. Whites' house is some distance up here - the 5th on the right.is the fifth house on the right. Don't worry, it's signposted! It's an amazing opportunity to get a private view of a megalithic passage tomb, smaller than Newgrange but just as eerie. The roof, which looks like a green mound from the outside, is artificial and was put in place to preserve the remains of the tomb. Inside, it takes the eyes a few minutes to adjust to the gloom,but once they do, the carvings and chambers are visible. Standing in a sacred space of your ancestors is a pretty cool thing. Apparently the entrance is aligned with the movement of the sun, as is Newgrange. Well worth a visit.