There are several new and improved museums and visitor experiences are opening around the island of Ireland this summer. No matter how many times you travel around Ireland, you’re going to find something new, something different and something fun.
Among the fabulous attractions that have popped up in time for summer is the Irish Racehorse Experience, a new immersion in thoroughbred racing at the Irish National Stud and Gardens in County Kildare. Offering fans an amazing experience, the state of the art attraction features cutting-edge gaming technology with live video, audio and graphics that lets race fans simulate owning, training and riding their own thoroughbred, culminating in a thrilling real-time race. The experience must be pre-booked online at the Irish National Stud website.
The Irish Museum of Time in Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, has also recently opened. Housed in a gothic-style church, it gathers together Irish-made clocks and watches in what is beyond doubt the finest collection of Irish timepieces in the world.
The museum forms part of the stunning Waterford Treasures suite of five museums in the city’s famous Viking Triangle, which include the brand new Irish Silver Museum. A ‘Freedom of Waterford’ ticket offering a guided walking tour and entrance to several Waterford Treasures museums is now available.
Fans of the night sky will love the new OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory in County Tyrone, named after the sound of the universe. This purpose-built stargazing facility in Northern Ireland’s only official Dark Sky Park offers exceptionally clear views of the night sky, as they would have been seen in Ireland centuries ago. The observatory’s new state-of-the-art tech and equipment contrasts with the ancient Beaghmore Stone Circles a short walk away in the foothills of the Sperrin mountains.
Valentia Island Lighthouse in County Kerry is shedding new light on its tower and lightkeepers’ house. The ‘Leading Lights at Cromwell Point’ experience is a journey through time and history and features information about the area’s past and present. On-site you can see a bronze age standing stone, a seventeenth-century Cromwellian fort, the 1920s Lightkeeper’s House, as well getting 360-degree views of land and sea from the Lighthouse Tower over the Wild Atlantic Way.
A trip to the Patrick Kavanagh Centre in County Monaghan is a must for all lovers of Irish poetry. Kavanagh, who wrote the famous poem ‘On Raglan Road’, was born in Inniskeen and €1 million refurbishment of the centre there has transformed it into an immersive ‘mini-museum’ with displays ranging from memory boxes containing personal effects, to touch screens and a new event space. Outside the centre, the self-guided Kavanagh Trail identifies key landmarks linked to Kavanagh’s poetry, while the adjacent Raglan Road Tea Room provides refreshments.
In County Meath, the superbly refurbished Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre, the gateway to the stunning UNESCO World Heritage Site of Newgrange and Knowth is open to visitors once again. While access and tickets are limited at the moment, pre-booking for up to 30 days before you go is possible.