Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [480]
In summer, access to Cairn T is controlled by the Heritage Service, which provides guides. But locals are passionate about the place and at any time of the year you can arrange for guides who will not only show you Cairn T but take you to some of the other cairns as well. Enquire at the Kells tourist office.
Carnbane West
From the car park, it takes about an hour to reach the summit of Carnbane West, where Cairn D and L, both some 60m in diameter, are located. Cairn D has been disturbed in an unsuccessful search for a central chamber. Cairn L, northeast of Cairn D, is also in poor condition, though you can enter the passage and chamber, where there are numerous carved stones and a curved basin stone in which human ashes were placed.
Cairn L is administered by the Heritage Service, which only gives out the key to those with an authentic research interest.
Loughcrew Gardens
A labour of love, the recently restored Loughcrew Historic Garden ( 049-854 1060; www.loughcrew.com; adult/child €7/3.50; noon-6pm Mar-Oct, 1-4pm Sun Oct-Apr) incorporates 6 acres of lawns, terraces and herbaceous borders along with a lime avenue, yew walk, canal and parterre. There’s also a medieval moat, tower house and St Oliver Plunkett’s family church. At the end of May each year the gardens play host to the Loughcrew Opera, where guests are encouraged to dress in period costume and bring a picnic or stay for dinner. Loughcrew Gardens are northwest of Kells, along the R154, near Oldcastle.
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COUNTY LOUTH
The Wee County, as it’s known locally, has prospered greatly in recent years thanks to its proximity to Dublin, but along with a welcome increase in activities, restaurants and nightlife comes commuter congestion and urban sprawl.
Louth’s most appealing town is Drogheda, a bustling place steeped in history that makes a good base for visiting Brú na Bóinne, just over the border in County Meath. Nearby are the evocative ruins of Mellifont Abbey and Monasterboice, and to the north the county town of Dundalk. From here it’s a quick trip to the lonely and evocative Cooley Peninsula to enjoy the mountainous landscape and the implausibly picturesque village of Carlingford.
Louth can easily be explored as a day trip from Dublin, but you’ll get more from your visit by spending some time exploring the county.
History
As part of the ancient kingdom of Oriel, Louth is the setting for perhaps the most epic of all Irish mythological tales, the Táin Bó Cúailnge (Cattle Raid of Cooley), which includes a starring role for Ireland’s greatest mythological hero, Cúchulainn. The Táin, by Thomas Kinsella, is a modern version of this compelling and bloody tale.
In the 5th and 6th centuries, Louth was at the centre of ecclesiastical Ireland with wealthy religious communities at the monastery at Monasterboice and the Cistercian abbey at Mellifont.
However, the arrival of the Normans in the 12th century ushered in a period of great change and upheaval. Attracted by the fertile plains of the Boyne, the Anglo-Norman gentry set about subduing the local population and building mighty houses and castles. The Norman invaders were responsible for the development of Dundalk and the two towns on opposite banks of the Boyne that united in 1412 to become what is now Drogheda.
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DROGHEDA
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Ongoing development and a rising population of commuters have begun to breathe new life into Drogheda, a historic fortified town