Jeebus... where to start on this one!? Newgrange is a 5000 year old tombe and religious site...erm…read morewe think! As with all such sites (the pyrimids in Egypt and Stonehenge in the UK are comprable examples) we can only guess at what the builders had in mind. To say we are lucky to have a site as impressive and important as this on our doorstep (about an hour and a bit from Dublin) is a huge understatement, it looks as impressive is it should be after a reconstruction some 30 years ago by a bunch of very very clever archaeologists. the results can be viewed by booking in advance and putting your name down for the 3 year waiting lists to be there at the summer and winter solstices. Opening times February - April: Daily 09.30 - 17.30. May: Daily 09.00 - 18.30. June - Mid September: Daily 09.00 - 19.00. Mid - End September: Daily 09.00 - 18.30. October: Daily 09.30 - 17.30. November - January: Daily 09.00 - 17.00.

If you come to Dublin this UNESCO world heritage site is a "must see". Everything I want to say…read morewill just be repeating the many good reasons to come here so read beyond my post and I'll keep mine short. - 5,000 year old tombs (New Grange, Knowth & Dowth) that are older than the pyramids and you can actually go inside New Grange. - 60% of Western Europe's neolithic art is found in the area. - inside the New Grange tomb is like going back in time, keep in mind these tombs were built with no modern tools at all and yet they knew how to build them and align the entrance on some, so they light up during the solstice. - friendly, knowledgeable guides. - well organised, small groups are taken in by bus rather than a mob of people overrunning the place so you can actually see and take it all in. - buy your tickets online and go early - a great Visitors Center gives you the backstory of the tomb's history before your tour.

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.

We visited Knowth as part of Mary Gibbons tour to Newgrange and Hill of Tara in July/Aug 2025 and I…read morereally enjoyed it. Our guide was lovely and gave us a very in-depth history of the site, as well as plenty of time to take photos and ask questions. It was fascinating. No, you cannot go inside any of the chambers here but it's still super cool. I would totally visit again.

Knowth is a poor man's Newgrange. Just like Newgrange, it's a 5000 year old passage tomb. In…read morefact, it has way more ancient stone artwork than Newgrange. Unfortunately, that's about the only thing it has on Newgrange. Newgrange looks cooler, plus you actually get to go inside to the passage chamber. At Knowth, they only let you into the entrance, and then a small room off to the side where they just give you some history. The actual chamber is blocked off and you don't get to go to it. The tour itself was good enough. A guide takes you through the history of the site, then walks you into the small room near the entrance. After that you're free to wander around the grounds, including a pathway up to the top of the tomb. Overall it was interesting (especially because of all the artwork) but just doesn't hold a candle to Newgrange. If you're going to one, though, you might as well go to both.

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.

It's really cool place to visit. The place is a Cistercian abbey on the River Boyne in Bective,…read moreCounty Meath, Ireland. The abbey was founded around 1147. Is in ruins but some areas are really well preserved. It is very quiet, the 5 times I've been there I think I've seen 10 people and That was too many haha! So it's very relaxing and inspiring. I always take my dog, so he can run all over the place. It is good that is very clean and well cared. It's great location for photographs.

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.

If you aren't Irish, you may not of heard of the Battle of the Boyne. It took place in 1690 but let…read moreme assure you, we are still talking about it - feel free to bring the subject up in pubs. It was a seminal battle that pretty much altered the course of Irish history, between Protestant King William III and his father-in-law, the Catholic King James II. The contestants were playing for the Irish, English and Scottish throne. The battle, won by William, helped ensure the continuation of Protestant supremacy in Ireland. You can find out more at the Battle of the Boyne centre, which has original and replica 17th Century weaponry displays, a battlefield tour and a laser battlefield model and, for the more genteel amongst you, a tea pavillion and a walled garden.

One of the best locations around Drogheda for a walk. One can walk out from Drogheda along the lit…read moreand newly surfaced footpath on the south shore of the Boyne. or drive to the Battle of the Boyne centre, park in the car park, and walk around several fields and along the old canal. Great place to take your dog but keep them on a lead and pick up after them. There's a tea pavilion which serves the usual tea / coffee and cake, and light lunches. A very pleasant way to spend a few hours and enjoy a walk in the countryside.