By Elizabeth B
Many visitors to Ireland enjoy exploring its ancient sites, and it is easy to see why.
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Our oldest monuments date back approximately 6,000 years, providing evidence of life, community, tradition, and ritual throughout Ireland.
While over 30 million Americans can trace their lineage directly to Ireland, it’s no surprise that these sites are so appealing to visitors year after year.
Walking in the footsteps of the first Irish, contemplating their complex art and exploring the shelters, churches, graves, and sacred sites they built and maintained over so many years can be a profoundly spiritual experience.
Some ancient sites, such as stone circles and mounds, can be easily explored without a ticket, but many lack information and context if you don't have a guide to explain things to you.
Below are some of Ireland's most iconic ancient sites and monuments, offering accessibility and information to provide a deeper understanding of the country's rich past.
Most sites are managed by the Office of Public Works (OWP) and are classified as heritage sites.
Check out more information about Ireland's heritage sites and the money-saving heritage site card here.
Newgrange, Dowth, and Knowth (collectively known as Brú na Bóinne), Drogheda, County Meath
Just outside Dublin, off the M2 motorway, you’ll find the expansive and impressive Brú na Bóinne archaeological site.
Constructed around 5,200 years ago, the monuments at Newgrange are older than Stonehenge and even outdate the Great Pyramids of Giza. Guests are limited daily, and a tour guide is required to gain access to the tombs and grounds.
This tour is highly regarded as one of the best in Ireland, offering a brilliant introduction to the ancient people and their lifestyles, and providing incredible insight into what motivated this prehistoric community the most.
The massive Neolithic (or Stone Age) monument, constructed by the community that lived and farmed in the fertile Boyne Valley, is part of a broader complex of monuments extending from Drogheda to the renowned Hill of Slane.
With the central passage tomb, best considered a type of temple or cathedral, and two smaller sites at Knowth and Dowth, alongside standing stones, henges, burial mounds, decorated rocks, and intricate ancient carvings, including one of the oldest calendars in the world, the site is replete with captivating curiosities.
How to Explore Brú na Bóinne
Guided tours, which depart every hour and must be booked in advance, provide a brilliant introduction to the site.
You will have plenty of time to explore the innovative and interactive visitor center and learn the history of the incredible mound before boarding the bus to the site itself.
Guides will bring you through the Newgrange site and into the tomb, which aligns with the Winter Solstice to create a magical corridor of sunlight that shines into the passage tomb for just one week a year, a sight so renowned that tickets to the event are by lottery only.
Enter the lottery for your chance to watch this ancient enlightenment for yourself.
There are other guided tours from Dublin that are available besides the official one at Brú na Bóinne. They include the popular Newgrange Tours by Mary Gibbons and others, including this one that also includes the Monasteraboice monastic settlement in County Louth.
What Facilities are at the Brú na Bóinne Visitors Centre?
The visitor center is a modern museum, complete with a gift shop selling books, merchandise, and branded clothing, as well as a bright café serving hot drinks, light lunches, and cake.
The center's opening hours can be found on the website.
Hill of Tara, County Meath
Only 16 kilometers from Newgrange and the Bru na Bóinne complex lies The Hill of Tara, another fascinating ancient ceremonial site.
In folklore, the five ancient roads of Ireland (and any other roads leading off those roads) were connected to Tara and subsequently to other important royal or monastic sites in the country.
The site is rich in history and it is believed that here the high kings of Ireland were crowned.
Built on a late Stone Age passage tomb, it has been used for centuries as a place of worship and devotion. Saint Patrick himself visited Tara in the 5th century when Christianity was gaining prominence in Ireland.
There are around 30 separate monuments to discover in the vicinity.
The entrance of the Mound of the Hostages is aligned with the rising sun on two of Ireland’s foremost feast days, Samhain (Halloween) and Imbolc (St Brigid’s Day). Ráith na Rí is the largest monument here, with a circumference of over 1,000 meters/3,280 feet.
The ‘Lia Fáil’ or ‘Stone of Destiny’ has many legends associated with it, not least that when the rightful high king took his place upon the stone, it supposedly let out a little cry of joy!
How to Explore the Hill of Tara
Take a guided tour of the site (you must contact them beforehand by emailing [email protected]) to understand its importance in Irish and world history. If you prefer to self-guide, check out the information guides and downloadable maps on the OPW website.
What facilities are at the Hill of Tara?
The visitor center located in the scenic setting of St. Patrick's Church is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from May to September. Here you’ll find a gift shop with books and local crafts, and a café for tea, coffee, and cakes.
Glendalough Monastic Village, County Wicklow
If you are devoting any time to a stay in Dublin, Glendalough is just a short hop away in County Wicklow.
Nestled in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, the glacial valley of Glenealo is home to a 6th-century monastic settlement. St Kevin, thought to have been a descendant of one of the ruling families of Leinster, settled here, founding the monastery and township.
Glendalough means Valley of Two Lakes, and upon your visit, you’ll understand why. The lakes are classified as ribbon lakes, fed by the nearby Poulanass River.
The Lower Lake is where most of the settlements and ruins lie, including the ancient graveyard and round tower.
On the Upper Lake (An Loch Uachtair), you’ll find St Kevins Bed, where the saint reputedly retired to, a tranquil and scenic place which only sees the sun for six months of the year and spends the rest in shadows.
It also holds a secret, Temple-na-Skellig, accessible only by boat and a steep incline from the water. The site was wrecked by Vikings on four occasions, even surviving an attack by the British in 1398, to become one of the most visited monastic sites in the country.
From the main entrance, known as the Gateway, an impressive arch built using ancient dry-stone techniques, to the views from vantage points along the trail and the beauty of the calm, dark waters, Glendalough is not to be missed.
How to Explore Glendalough
Bus and walking tours (offered by Hillwalk Tours) of Glendalough are available. They include the St. Kevin's Bus service that leaves from Dublin daily, as well as other guided tours.
Guides will regale you with the history, heritage, and fascinating facts of the site.
There is plenty of information available if you would like to self-guide; pick up a map from the information kiosk before you start. For a flat trail and a light stroll, try the Miners Road or Green Road Walk.
What Facilities are in Glendalough?
From toilets to a café and visitor centre, the site is accessible, family-friendly, and a charming walk through native Irish woodland.
The Glendalough Monastic site is open year-round but with staggered hours during the winter months.
Skellig Michael, Portmagee, County Kerry
Perhaps one of the most iconic sites in the country, the dark and foreboding pyramidal island called Skellig Michael is jutting straight out of a fairytale ocean.
Usually characterized as a remote and isolated place, often shrouded in mist, Skellig Michael has an amazing and rich history, stretching back to ancient times.
Formed of slate alongside the McGillycuddy Reeks, Ireland's tallest mountain range, some 360 million years ago, Skellig Michael is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, and, whether you land on the island or circle it by boat, it's definitely worth seeing once in a lifetime!
Monks first settled here sometime in the 6th century and continued to live on this uninhabitable rock until the 13th century.
After the island was used as a location in the Star Wars franchise, Skellig Michael became the go-to destination for movie lovers and location spotters, and some damage was caused to the ancient steps, which were hand-carved by monks and had survived unscathed for generations.
The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi both feature Skellig Michael as Luke Skywalker's exile planet of ‘Ahch-to,’ which sounds almost Irish, and the unique location looked incredible on the big screen.
How to Explore Skellig Michael
The only way to explore Skellig Michael is by boat, and only a select few can land daily.
This is to minimize further destruction to the site.
As of June 2025, boats are temporarily not allowed to land. A boat trip around the island, or to see it from the waters, no matter how far away, is a great day out too.
What Facilities are at Skellig Michael?
If you are lucky enough to land on the island, please note that there are no facilities on Skellig Michael. As a rocky outcrop in the middle of the Atlantic, with no permanent residents unless you count the flocks of seabirds, puffins, and gulls, don’t expect a well-appointed visitor center.
Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery Complex, County Sligo
One for the true palaeophiles among us, just 4 kilometers from Sligo town, Carrowmore is a little different from the other sites on the list.
A scattering of ancient monuments, some unmarked and others unexcavated that are spread across a couple of fields in the County Sligo countryside, the site may be a little underwhelming at first glance.
In fact, with over 35 individual passage tombs and structures, dating back approximately 6,000 years, the unassuming Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery Complex is recognized as the oldest and densest concentration of Neolithic monuments in the country.
Witness the huge boulders that rest atop each other to form intricate burial chambers and enclosures, along with the standing stones, stone rows, tombs, and other ancient artifacts that make up this fascinating attraction.
The central monument, Listoghil, is a large and impressive cairn, around which up to 60 satellite monuments are situated.
How to Explore Carrowmore
Look for the nearby renovated farm cottage that serves as the site's visitor center and information hub. The cottage has a public bathroom, and is open from March 15 to Aug. 31st, from 10 a.m.– 6 p.m .
The cottage/visitor center is currently closed, however, until July 2025.
Carrowmore certainly provides an authentic experience of what life was like in ancient Ireland.
What Facilities are Available at Carrowmore?
Wear waterproof footwear for your trek through Carrowmore as there are few pathways.
Instead, green trails lead you through the site, past the stone circles, chambers, and passage tombs on an ancient stone exploration you won’t forget.
Additional Prehistoric Attractions to Explore
There are many other ancient stones and megalithic sites scattered throughout Ireland. Below are some additional ones that you might want to add to your itinerary.
Drombeg Stone Circle, County Cork – smaller in scope than those described above, it is still a popular stop for tourists exploring County Cork. Otherwise known as The Druid's Circle, archeologists have estimated that it dates from the Bronze to Early Iron Age period (1100-800 B.C.).
In 1958, an excavation revealed the remains of a young adolescent as well as a communal cooking pit in the middle of the circle.
It contains 13 closely-spaced stones, although 17 were present when it was first discovered.
The Beltany Stone Circle, County Donegal – this Bronze Age stone circle is carbon-dated 2100-700 B.C. and is as old as Newgrange. It is believed to have been a ritual site associated with the Celtic agricultural calendar.
There are 64 stones out of 80 left standing. Some of those are more than 6 feet/1.82 meters tall. Many of them have designs that are also similar to those found in Newgrange.
And like the County Meath site, some say there is an alignment with the sun at certain times of the year (early May and in December around the winter solstice). The site's name is also a clue that it had a strong association with the Celtic festival, Bealtaine.
The Uragh Stone Circle – located on the Beara Peninsula (between Kenmare and Laragh) in a beautiful place called Glen Inchaquinn.
The circle, dating from the late Neolithic through the Early Bronze Age era (3300 to 900 B.C.), is much smaller than the other two mentioned above, with four low stones and a large nearby standing stone measuring 10 feet/3 meters.
You'll find the Beara Way, a 152-km/94-mile long-distance hiking trail a few meters from this attraction.
Other significant stone circles include the Athgreaney Stone Circle in Wicklow; the Grange Stone Circle in Limerick; the Ardgroom, Cashelkeelty, Derreenataggart and Drombohilly stone circles, also all in Cork, and the Kenmare Stone Circle in County Kerry.=
Ireland is a truly fascinating landscape, full of ancient monuments and spectacular sites. Archaeologists have long studied these monuments, and the relics excavated from them, to form educated opinions about the types of people who first occupied the country, as well as their motivations.
Aspects of history, such as social groups, farming practices, diet, and even the Irish weather, helped shape these sites into what we see today.
Have you visited any of Ireland’s top ancient sites mentioned above? Let us know in the comments below.
