Blackrock is a seaside village just to the south of Dundalk and lies conveniently halfway between Dublin and Belfast making it easily accessible from 3 different Airports. In the 1950s and 60s, Blackrock was a holiday destination for people in landlocked Monaghan and Cavan. The promenade area includes a number of restaurants and public houses.
The view looking North over Dundalk Bay from the promenade toward the Cooley Mountains is impressive. In common with a number of east coast locations, the beach has a very gentle gradient and the sea retreats about 5 km at low tide. The exposed seabed is a mixture of sand and mud flats. It is a suitable and fertile habitat for a variety of wader birds, including Brent geese and dunlins.
Less than an hour’s drive from Ireland’s two major cities, Dublin and Belfast, Carlingford Town on the Cooley Peninsula nestles between Slieve Foy, Carlingford Lough and the Mourne Mountains. A unique blend of natural beauty, spectacular panoramas, myths and legends combine to make Carlingford a very special place. It is Ireland’s most well preserved medieval town lending it a unique feel and atmosphere. Carlingford is also the Oyster capital of the country and every August the Oyster Festival draws huge crowds into this pretty village of white washed cottages and ancient clustered buildings. ‘An táin Bó Cuailigne’ the national epic of Ireland is centralised on the Cooley Peninsula. here Cuchulainn, Queen Maebh and the renowned Brown Bull of Cooley met their fate. Their route can be followed across Ireland to the Cooley mountains. This national way marked way is known as the táin trail.
Meaning “Mountain of the hillslopes” is a mountain in the south of County Armagh in Northern Ireland. The mountain forms the core of the Ring of Gullion and stands as the highest point in the county with an elevation of 573 metres. Slieve Gullion plays a prominent role in the mythology and history of the area surrounding it and dominates the countryside around it, offering views of as far away as Connacht and Dublin Bay in favorable weather conditions. Slieve Gullion is the eroded remains of a volcanic complex from 60 Milllion years ago. It is surrounded by a ring dyke. Slieve Gullion has been shaped by glaciation and exhibits a classic ‘crag and tail’ glacial feature. The ‘tail’, composed of glacial deposits, points south. Two cairns exist on top of the mountain on either side of the lake – the Northern one is a circular mound of stones approximately 40 feet in diameter whilst the Southern one is a large, well preserved passage grave which is the highest yet discovered in Ireland.[3] Much of the surface of Slieve Gullion is covered with forest, heather, or raw stone while an amount of 612 hectares of dry heath on the mountain have been designated a Special Area of Conservation,[4] an Environmentally Sensitive Area,[5] and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
The Mourne Mountains or Mournes a granite mountain range located in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland, are among the most famous mountains in the country. The surrounding area is an area of outstanding natural beauty and is proposed as the first national park in Northern Ireland. The Mournes are partly owned by the National Trust and see a large number of visitors every year. The highest mountain is Slieve Donard at 849 metres (2,785 ft). The name Mourne is derived from the name of a Gaelic clann or sept called the Múghdorna. The Mournes are visited by many tourists, hillwalkers, cyclists and rock climbers. The Mourne Wall is among the more famous features in the Mournes. It is a 35 kilometres (22 mi) dry-stone wall that crosses fifteen summits, constructed to define the boundaries of the 36 square kilometres (8,900 acres) area of land purchased by the Belfast Water Commissioners in the late 1800s. This followed a number of Acts of Parliament allowing the sale, and the establishment of a water supply from the Mournes to the growing industrial city of Belfast. Construction of the Mourne Wall was started in 1904 and was completed in 1922. Some of the mountains have names beginning Slieve, from the Irish word sliabh, meaning mountain. Examples are Slieve Donard, Slieve Lamagan and Slieve Muck. There are also a number of curious names: Pigeon Rock; Buzzard’s Roost; Brandy Pad; the Cock and Hen; Percy Bysshe; the Devil’s Coach Road; and Pollaphuca, which means “hole of the fairies or sprites”.
The Boyne Valley is situated in the east of ireland and flows through the counties of Louth and Meath. The Valley is Ireland’s ancient capital and it’s most sacred and mythical landscape. In 1849 William Wilde, father of oscar, wrote of the Boyne that the history of Ireland may be traced through its monuments. This remains true today. moreover, its sites and monuments are amongst the best examples of their kind in europe and are all within a short distance of each other. These include, the medieval town of Drogheda, the great prehistoric tombs at Brú na Bóinne (newgrange) and the site of the infamous Battle of the Boyne.
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