South of Dublin, the Wicklow Mountains offer nature lovers spectacular views of mountain peaks, lakes, waterfalls, open moorland and verdant valleys, some landscaped into elegant parks. The rolling heights are covered in peat bog where rivers form wi..

The extensive ruins of the Franciscan friary founded by the Fitzgerald family in the 13C stand in the grounds of the parish priest's house. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16C, the building became a courthiouse. In 1812, the build..

This obelisk, made of polished granite, was erected in memory of Captain Robert C. Halpin (1836-1894), a native of this town who commanded the Great Eastern . This metal-hulled ship, built by Brunel, laid the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Mem..

Maurice Fitzgerald built the castle in 1176 on a rocky promontory, directly south of the harbour. The region was granted to Fitzgerald after the 12C Anglo-Norman invasion. Until the 16C, Black Castle was subject to frequent attacks by local clansmen,..

This church dates from the 18C, and has a copper cupola, donated by the Eaton Family in 1777. The 12C Irish Norman doorway opens onto an interior with a pretty king-post roof, a 12C baptismal font, an organ, transferred at the end of the 18C from the..

This formidable stone prison, built in 1702, the time of the Penal Laws, was in use until 1924. A sophisticated exhibition now presents some of the most dramatic episodes from Irish history. Visitors are given a taste of 18C prison life, under the wa..

A long pebble beach (5km) backed by a broad grass bank is flanked by the sea and the Broad Lough, a natural lagoon known for its wildfowl and golden plover.