Reasons To Love
Ireland
Its scenery is spectacular. Its people are great craic. Its history is emotive. Ask anyone from Ireland and you’ll hear a different reason why they love their country. Here, we pick some of our favourites.
1 The craic
t Roughly translated as good times with friends, this is at the very root of Irish friendliness. An indefinable and irreverent humour, it prompts many a return visit to Ireland.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
2 Screen-worthy landscapes
t From Spielberg to Kubrick, and Star Wars to Game of Thrones, Ireland’s jaw-dropping landscapes have long been fertile ground for filmmakers.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
3 Newgrange
t Explore Newgrange, older than Egypt’s pyramids and just as mysterious. It's one of the world's most important prehistoric sites, and the oldest known solar observatory.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
4 The Giant’s Causeway
t Visit Northern Ireland’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site, the surreally beautiful Giant’s Causeway, formed from thousands of interlocking basalt columns.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
5 Two capital cities
t Barely a two-hour drive apart, visitors to Ireland are easily able to experience the pleasures of both Dublin and Belfast – each offering their own rich history.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
6 Burgeoning local food scenes
t Once with a reputation for mainly meat and potatoes, Ireland is now in full culinary bloom. Head to the capitals for creative chefs and great local ingredients.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
7 Ancient castles
t The Irish countryside is littered with castles. Some are no more than rubble and ruin, while others remain as magnificent as when they were first built – with histories to match.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
8 Titanic Belfast
t This award-winning museum, housed in a striking modern building, is a triumph of innovation. It is located in Belfast, where the doomed ship was originally built.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
9 World-class distilleries
t Ireland is a whiskey-lover's paradise. Home to top distilleries like Bushmills and Jameson, it's the perfect place to sample the good stuff.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
10 trad sessions
t Traditional music is the life-blood of Ireland. Sessions can range from a full band belting out knee-slapping jigs to a single mournful singer bringing an entire pub to silence.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
11 Surfing the Sligo Coast
t Ireland’s Atlantic coast is world-renowned as a top surfing spot, and there’s no better place to experience this than the golden beaches and clean waves of Sligo.
Discover Reasons to Love Ireland
12 Celtic heritage
t Ireland’s rich tradition of storytelling embraces a heritage steeped in enchantment. Most tales originated over 2,000 years ago, and Irish mythology remains a link to the ancient past.