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Posted Thu 16 Apr 2020 1:47 PM
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Island of Ireland
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Last Active: Fri 6 May 2022 11:20 AM
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The island of Ireland is home to many UNESCO Heritage sites, and since we won’t be able to physically visit any of them on World Heritage Day, I would like to take you on a virtual tour of some of the island’s most famous sites. Skellig Michael
Sceilg Mhichíl, also known as Skellig Michael, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. The Skellig Rocks, Skellig Michael (also known as Great Skellig) and Little Skellig, are towering sea crags rising from the Atlantic Ocean almost 12 kilometres west of the Ivereagh Peninsula in County Kerry. The monastic site on Great Skellig is very well preserved, and you can visit the beehive huts by climbing no less than 600 steps.
No wonder the makers of Star Wars: The Force Awakens chose to film in this location! Take a video tour, or stroll around the beehive huts here.
Brú na Bóinne
 Brú na Bóinne, which means the ‘palace’ or the ‘mansion’ of the Boyne, refers to the area within the bend of the River Boyne which contains one of the world’s most important prehistoric landscapes. It is located close to the east coast of Ireland, approximately 40 km north of Dublin city, about 8km west of the medieval town of Drogheda and about 5km east of the village of Slane. This virtual tour takes you to Newgrange, the prehistoric passage tomb built during the Neolithic period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. The Giant's Causeway
 Along the beautiful Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland, you can find the Giant’s Causeway, a collection of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns which are the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It formed when molten rock was forced up through fissures in the earth to form a lava plateau. During one intense period of volcanic activity, rapidly cooling lava contracted and differences in the cooling rate led to the formation of hexagonal basalt columns.
According to legend, the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool) was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two giants could meet. It is not difficult to see how giants could have walked around here, and that is how the area got its name. The Giant’s Causeway was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986, and with the courtesy of the National Trust, you can visit the different areas with the help of these virtual tours. Make sure to turn your sound on!
Have you ever visited any of these three or the many other Heritage sites on the island of Ireland? Feel free to share your experiences, pictures and videos with us below!
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