Loughcrew
- Megalithic burial grounds
- Built in 3500-3300 BC near the summit and on surrounding hills and valleys
- Passage tombs are aligned with the Equinox sunrise
- One of the oldest buildings in the world
Newgrange
- Prehistoric religious monument built during the Neolithic period
- Built in 3200 BC
- Sealed for several millennia, it was still spoken of in Irish folklore, said to be the dwelling of the deities
- Rediscovered and studied in the 17th century
- Older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Brú na Bóinne
- Large megalithic passage grave
- 1 of 90 additional monuments in the area
- Associated with Boyne culture
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Skellig Michael
- Island that served as a Gaelic Christian monastery dating back to the 6th-8th centuries
- Abandoned in the 12th century
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Giant’s Causeway
- Area of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns
- The results of an ancient volcanic eruption 50-60 million years ago
- When molten basalt ran through chalk beds, it formed a lava plateau
- The formation fractured and contracted similar to drying mud, cracks moving downward as the mass cooled
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
Cliffs of Moher
- Sea cliffs in County Clare
- The oldest rocks, found at the bottom of the cliffs, show 300 million year old river channels had cut through the landmass
- Wildlife that can be seen include seals, dolphins, whales, basking sharks, and on land, goats, foxes, badgers, and hares
Kilmainham Gaol
- Former prison and now museum that was used to incarcerate and execute Irish revolutionaries by the British
- Originally built in 1796 as a dungeon
- Children were sometimes arrested for petty theft and placed in the prison and adult prisoners were transported to Australia
- When the Great Famine occurred, the prison was overwhelmed with prisoners
St Stephen’s Green
- Public park created in 1664
- The park is surrounded by streets that once formed major traffic arteries through Dublin city center
Kilkee Cliff Walk
- Walking path that follows the cliff path of the coastline
Trinity College, Dublin
- College founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I
- Modeled after the universities Oxford and Cambridge, serving the most elite in Europe
- Built in part to consolidate the rue of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland
- Catholics were not admitted to the protestant university until 1793
Costs
all flights $846
food $56/day x 13 days = $728
hotel $85/day x 11 days = $935
tickets (all attractions) $98
TOTAL for whole itinerary $2,607
