Revealed: Ireland's Top 20 tourist attractions (paid and free)

National Gallery of Ireland. Photo: Fáilte Ireland

Glasnevin Cemetery & Museum, Dublin. Photo: Fáilte Ireland

National Gallery of Ireland. Photo: Fáilte Ireland

The Cliffs of Moher. Photo: Deposit

Guinness Storehouse Brewing experience

Glasnevin Cemetery & Museum, Dublin. Photo: Fáilte Ireland

National Gallery of Ireland. Photo: Fáilte Ireland

Pól Ó Conghaile Twitter Email

June 07 2018 10:01 AM

Ireland's top five visitor attractions are now drawing in excess of one million visitors each per year, according to Fáilte Ireland.

Figures released by the national tourism development authority today underline another bumper year for Irish tourism in 2017.

The Guinness Storehouse tops its list of paid attractions, with 1,711,281 visitors, while the National Gallery of Ireland surpasses the one million mark for the first time, topping the free-to-visit list with 1,065,929 visitors.

The Gallery posted a 41pc rise in visitor numbers over 2016, aided by the reopening of its permanent collection halfway through the year, as well as two major exhibitions featuring Caravaggio and Vermeer.

Top 20 paid attractions for 2017

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin - 1,711,281
Cliffs of Moher, Co. Clare - 1,527,000
Dublin Zoo - 1,264,300
National Aquatic Centre, Dublin - 1,099,756
Book of Kells (Trinity College, Dublin) - 983,410
Tayto Park, Co. Meath - 735,000
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin - 603,000
Kylemore Abbey & Gardens, Co. Galway - 558,000
Muckross House & Gardens, Co. Kerry - 552,923
Powerscourt Gardens & Waterfall, Co Wicklow - 501,601
Fota Wildlife Park, Co. Cork - 455,559
Blarney Castle & Gardens, Co. Cork - 450,000
Kilmainham Gaol, Dublin - 425,000
Kilkenny Castle - 418,685
Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary - 376,488
Dublin Castle - 371,000
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Co. Clare - 369,275
Brú na Boinne, Co. Meath - 281,103
Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin - 238,285
Glenveagh National Park, Co. Donegal - 211,000

Fáilte Ireland's annual list of top visitor attractions aims to give Irish attractions an insight into how they are performing alongside their counterparts.

Dublin dominates the lists, with four of the top five paid attractions and seven of the top 10 free attractions located in the city and county.

Top 20 free attractions 2017

National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin - 1,065,929
Castletown House, Co. Kildare - 666,541
Glendalough, Co. Wicklow - 639,826
National Botanic Gardens, Dublin - 569,652
DLR LexIcon, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin - 525,708
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin - 489,295
Doneraile Wildlife Park, Co. Cork - 480,000
National Museum - Archaeology, Dublin - 474,564
Science Gallery (Trinity College), Dublin - 407,529
Farmleigh, Phoenix Park, Dublin - 359,432
Kilkenny Castle Parklands - 336,315
Newbridge Silverware Museum of Style Icons, Co. Kildare - 350,000
National Museum - Natural History, Dublin - 336,412
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin - 335,875
National Museum - Decorative Arts & History, Dublin - 234,336
Connemara National Park - 221,713
National Library of Ireland, Dublin - 197,245
Crawford Art Gallery, Cork - 188,814
Malin Head Viewing Point, Co. Donegal - 172,329
The Hugh Lane, Dublin - 167,410

Fáilte Ireland provided capital funding of €22m for tourism projects in 2017, contributing to a record year for visitors, it said.

“We invest in new and compelling attractions throughout the country because we know that they bring visitors from around the world to our shores," added its Director of Product Development, Orla Carroll.

This January, Weekend Magazine and Independent.ie readers voted the Wild Atlantic Way as Ireland's top tourist attraction for 2018.

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