Meath Visitor Attractions

Ashbourne 1916 Easter Rebellion Monument Meath

Ashbourne - 1916 Easter Rebellion Monument Meath. On the 28th April 1916 a group of Fingal Volunteers estimated to number 45 men, attacked the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks at Ashbourne. The barracks was usually manned by a sergeant and four constables but given the level of fighting in the Capital, reinforcements had been called in from surrounding barracks and so on the day of the attack there were 10 RIC men stationed there.The RIC reinforcements took heavy fire from the rebels from all sides. The firefight lasted many hours before volunteer reinforcements arrived from Badwinstown. The RIC eventually surrendered to the volunteers. The then President of Ireland, Sean T. O'Kelly unveiled a memorial at Rath Cross Roads, Ashbourne,on Easter Sunday, April 26, 1959 which commemorates the Battle of Ashbourne.

Danestown Ringfort - Co Meath

Danestown Ringfort - Co Meath is without doubt one of the most impressive ringforts, where the inner raised circular platform is over four metres high with a deep fosse (ditch), pictured right and outer bank, the outer bank is over two metres high in places. The ringfort has a diameter of about 150 feet.

Hill of Tara - Co Meath

Hill of Tara - Co Meath is about 1.6 kms to the right off the main Navan/ Dublin Road.There is a wealth of history and legend associated with Royal Tara as the ancient spiritual and political Capital of Ireland, and its central place in Irish History, which attracts ongoing, national and international interest. For here on this lonely hill, once stood a royal acropolis. For well over two thousand years royalty occupied Tara. The view from the hill is one of the best features. The surrounding countryside is considered to be one of the richest pastureland in the whole of Ireland. Here at the cultural and political heart of the country every third year there was a great Feis (fair or festival) held at which the laws and the rules of the land were discussed and revised. Located just 15 mins from Navan off the N3.

Kells High Crosses - Co Meath

Kells High Crosses - Co Meath in the centre of Kells town is St. Columba's Church of Ireland whose cemetery contains the round tower, several high crosses and nearby, an ancient oratory said to be the house of St. Columcille. The town of Kells is situated northwest of Dublin in the historic Boyne Valley. The South Cross, closest to the roundtower seems to be the earliest of the Kells crosses, dating to the very earliest 9th century. Standing 3.3 meters high, it is carved from a single block of sandstone. The Book of Kells, an illuminated Latin Gospel Book was completed here during the thriving years of the monastic community. The actual Book resides at Trinity College in Dublin, but a beautiful replica can be viewed in the museum in the Heritage Center. The town of Kells has placed historical plaques with information about the buildings they mark throughout the town.

Newgrange - Co Meath

Newgrange - Co Meath was constructed over 5,000 years ago (about 3,200 B.C.), making it older than Stonehenge in England and the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Newgrange was built during the Neolithic or New Stone Age by a farming community that prospered on the rich lands of the Boyne Valley. Knowth and Dowth are similar mounds that together with Newgrange have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Trim Castle, Trim, Co Meath

Trim Castle, Trim, Co Meath on the shores of the Boyne has an area of 30,000 m². It is the remains of Ireland's largest castle. The Castle was used as a centre of Norman administration for the Liberty of Meath, one of the new administrative areas of Ireland created by Henry II of England and granted to Hugh de Lacy. de Lacy took possession of it in 1172. The film ‘Braveheart’ staring Mel Gibson chose Trim in County Meath as the shooting location for the epic thriller.

The Yellow Steeple - Co Meath

The Yellow Steeple - Co Meath takes its name from the golden colour of the stonework at sunset. It is a tall tower that was originally part of an Augustinian Abbey, St Mary's.

Slade Castle, Co Meath

Francis Ledwidge Museum, Co Meath

The Boyne Valley, Co Meath