Loved this small museum…read more One must be impressed with variety of Irish National Museums Expect a quaint cafe

Absolutely fantastic collection of Irish historical finds…read more The bogs of Ireland preserved things such as fish traps, textiles, lots of gold jewelry, and, most notably, some human beings. The acidic and anaerobic nature of the peat bog was so effective at preserving these bodies that we even knew what the men had been eating. And even more interesting - the methods that had been used to MURDER them so long ago. Because these men had not just randomly fallen into the bog, oh no; there are all sorts of things to learn including why the nipples were cut off! But I will refrain from going in to more detail. If you are interested, and are in Dublin, you MUST go there yourself. It is free so you have no excuse not to. Well, unless you are not interested in things such as I described here. Whatever. Note: there is not a cafe in the museum, and no storage lockers for your bag. Also, I thought the gift shop was pretty boring as it had very few things that were relevant to the museum displays. Which is disappointing as the museum artifacts themselves are very local and specific to Ireland and are extremely interesting.

Wonderful museum. It is in the smaller side and a bit dark but it feels cozy somehow…read more The exhibitions tell a story of the history of Ireland. I wanted to visit to view the big bodies and I was not disappointed. They also had hordes of gold in display which were surrounded by beautiful jewelry. The museum is free.

My sister and I were driving up to Silgo and decided to take a scenic drive around the lake on our…read moreway up. We were touristing, and I was delighted when we happened upon this tourist spot. It's really cool. They offer tours or just free roaming exploration of the grounds. We opted to just walk around and look at everything. It was insanely beautiful, like just about everything else in Ireland. Inside is set up like a museum with informative little notes about history on things. The grounds consist of an courtyard and then some fields just off the lake. After we spent some time just looking at everything, we stopped in the gift shop on our way out. I have to say they had the most interesting selection of Ireland post cards and magnet type things that I saw anywhere in the country. I would definitely make sure to come back and I tell anyone I know heading to the West to check it out. It's not an all day type thing but you can definitely make an afternoon of it with the woods just across the lake that are good for a bit of hiking.

Excellent exhibits. A must visit for all ages. Cafeteria…read morelunch is also good, though lines could be a little long.

In 1904 Patrick Kavanagh, Irelands first rural working class poet of renown was born down the road…read morein the little hamlet of Mucker in the parish of Inniskeen, which is itself a small village in County Monaghan close to the border with Armagh. This centre honouring him is housed in Inniskeen's former 19th century RC church of St Mary's, and here he attended mass, in between long hours of farming, and work as a cobbler too. This before he gave it all up to a pursue literary career in Dublin, although Inniskeen and the country all around here were to play a huge part in his poems & novels. Truly the title 'Kavanagh country', here is well justified. Even this church features in his comic, semi autobiographical novel "Tarry Flynn". He died in 1967 and his very rustic grave is in the churchyard around the back. The centre which is very well organized, functions both as a museum & research library, as well hosting a whole host of events & talks throughout the year. Patrick Kavanagh is very well known in Ireland, though not so well known elsewhere, although some of his work is better known than him. The song "On Raglan Road" for instance has of course become an Irish standard, and it was Kavanagh himself who set his own poem to music, It's also a popular name for Irish theme bars throughout the world, including the one in Disney world, Florida! When actor Russell Crowe famously quoted PK's short poem "Sanctity" at the BAFTA` awards in England some years back, few there knew anything about him, and the next day newspapers were full of biographical details about him. He's a fascinating & pleasingly anarchic individual to get to know, and his poems particularly "The Great Hunger", which isn't about the famine, (but more the great hunger for sex!), are earthy, peverse & simply no-tricks beautiful. Even if you're in this locality with no prior interest in the man there's enough here to satisfy & inspire. Worth checking out the half an hour straight to camera monologue that he recorded for RTÉ back in 1962. Relayed on a large screen in their 60 seater Audio-visual theatre, although it's a poor quality recording it's in turn hilarious & deeply moving. Note: Check for performance tours around the area with a local actor in the season. Also on Saturdays it's only open by prior arrangement.

Birr Castle was built in 1620 and replaced an earlier one built in 1170. Unlike many other Irish…read morecastles, Birr Castle is still used as a residence, by the family of the seventh earl of Rosse. While the castle isn't open to the public, the grounds include extensive gardens and the Historic Science Centre, a museum of Ireland's historic scientists and their contributions to both astronomy and botany. The walled gardens include box hedges that are more than 300 years old. They are also noted in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's tallest hedge.

What can I say - a fabulous experience! The grounds are…read moregorgeous. I went for a fabulous walk, and now that the plants can grow freely, the place is a wildlife wonderland! I saw small, red butterflies in abundance, ones I'd never seen before! They were everywhere! The gift shop is also lovely, with some perfect souvenirs! I recommend the playground to all parents as it is such a fun experience for the little ones! The telescope and science museum were amazing also, I learned so much! I particularly enjoyed the part where one of the Earl's wife was talking about photography and her dark room. It was an amazing display! I recommend this trip highly, as it is so cheap to come in and such a wonderful experience!

Very good museum , pleasantly surprised , friendly staff , very hands on and approachable , great…read moreknowledge of artifacts and history and it even has a life sized ww1 trench ! Only opened on Sundays , be prepared to spend the day as its very fascinating !