Ten best: Unsung Irish Attractions
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1 Lough Hyne, Co Cork
Scientists call it the chemical activation of disturbed phyto-plankton in warm water.
Sea kayakers, on the other hand, venturing by night onto Europe’s only inland marine lake, describe the phosphorescence visible there as ‘millions of aquatic stars’. As full of urchins, sponges and coral as it is local folklore.
Details: Atlantic Sea Kayaking. Tel: 021 21058; atlanticseakayaking.com.
2 avondale house and forest, co wicklow In a county strewn with grand houses like Powerscourt and Kilruddery, Avondale is Wicklow's surprise package. The house itself is Georgian and was once home to Charles Stuart Parnell, but the real wow factor is its setting -- a 500-acre forest park. With orienteering courses and picnic areas, it's an adults' and a children's playground.
Details: Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. Tel: 0404 46111; heritageisland.com.
3 leap castle, co offaly Formerly the seat of the O'Carroll clan, Offaly's Leap Castle is today home to one of the most chilling collections of ghosts in Ireland, and the altogether more affable Ryan family. "We get on fine with them," says Sean Ryan, who acquired the castle in 1991 and has since restored it from ruin. The result is a labour of love -- though you may have to share it with a spectre or two.
Details: Clareen, Birr, Co Offaly. Tel: 057 913 1115 (by appointment only).
4 ballitore, co kildare In 1685, two Yorkshire Quakers paused at the top of a rise near the Kildare/Wicklow border. Taken with the picturesque valley, John Barcroft and Abel Strettel decided to buy the land, creating the only planned and permanent Quaker settlement in Britain or Ireland. Today, Ballitore is home to a Meeting House, museum and Shaker furniture store.
Details: Ballitore Library and Quaker Museum. Tel: 059 862 3344.
5 cork butter museum "Definitely scone-worthy," says Lonely Planet. "Don't miss it," gushes the Financial Times. The Butter Museum tells the story of Ireland's butter trade, taking in Cork's Butter Exchange and the modern success of Kerrygold. Best of all, it won't increase your cholesterol a jot.
Details: O'Connell Square, Cork. Tel: 021 430 0600; corkbutter.museum.
6 omey island, co galway Omey was an early settlement of St Feichín's -- the excavation of which recently unearthed one of the few known burials of a female within monastic grounds. The route across the sand to the island is submerged at high tide, but summer is the ideal time to visit -- wild flowers are thriving, and annual beach races take place this August 4.
Details: Connemara Tourism. Tel: 095 22622; www.connemara.ie.
7 st michan's, dublin St Michan's is surprising for what lies beneath. Descending into a tunnel, visitors encounter four macabre mummies -- including a criminal and a 6'5" crusader who, if his leathery hand is touched, reputedly imparts luck to the visitor. It's spooky, but where else would you get to meet an 800-year old corpse?
Details: Church Street, Dublin 7. Tel: 01-872 4154.
8 ballycross apple farm, co wexford The von Engelbrechten family knows its apples. For years they've been harvesting by hand, pressing with traditional rack and cloth methods, and creating unadulterated artisan juices. Visitors are welcome on weekends during the apple season (August to February), when there are farm animals in the courtyard and lunch at the cafe.
Details: Bridgetown, Co Wexford. Tel: 053 913 5160.
9 chocolate workshops, walkinstown Workshops at the Chocolate Warehouse offer an insight into chocolate in the only way possible -- by getting hands-on. Visitors learn about ingredients, watch a demo and then don aprons and set to coating, topping and hand-piping their own confections. Best of all, they can take the goodies home. Summer is sold out, so get thinking for Christmas!
Details: Walkinstown, Co Dublin. Tel: 01-450 0080; chocolatewarehouse.ie.
10 fanore beach, co clare Fanore has been blighted in recent years by mushrooming crowds, caravan parks and holiday homes. The strand itself, though, remains a beauty. Backed by grassy dunes and blessed with sands that shift palettes with the changing light, it's a perfect hideaway.
Details: Fanore, Ballyvaughan, Co Clare.
- Pl Conghaile
