Exploring Ulster

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The Giant's Causeway in County Antrim

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Armagh

Celebrating the extensive reaches of the great Lough Neagh and its richly forested adjacent lands, on the southern edges of the lake in County Armagh is the Oxford Island Discovery Centre. Its picturesque location makes the Centre’s cafes and meeting rooms an idyllic scene for visitors. Among its several attractions is the Kinnego Marina, the largest marina on Lough Neagh,  where skippered boat trips and expert instruction in sailing and powerboating are offered by fully qualified staff. Accommodation on-site includes a 30-bed hostel and a camping and caravan park which offers tours to Coney Island, the only inhabited island on Lough Neagh, believed to have its first human settlers as far back as 8000 B.C. The Nature Reserve cannot be missed by environmentalist and wildlife-lovers. The Centre has year-round festivals and exhibits about subjects ranging from the local insect life to the legends of Finn McCool.

Just on the edges of the city of Armagh, atop the hill Ard Macha, is the Cathedral of St. Patrick. It is on this site in the year 445 that it is believed St. Patrick built his church. The original structure suffered a series of destructive events at the hands of Vikings, lightning strikes, and fires, but what stands today is a stunning architectural work begun in 1834. Its many restorations have not detracted from the rich, ancient spiritualism that many flock to experience atop the hill.

Cavan

Originally part of the Connacht province, County Cavan became recognized as a piece of Ulster in 1584. While the boggy terrain of Cavan has resulted in a rather rural setting, the numerous lakes are a fisherman’s delight. The Dun Na Rí Forest Park is not only a canvas of unusual natural sites, but the paths through its forests and monuments are lined with legends of battles and myths of giants. Cromwell’s Bridge is just one such structure nestled in the forested landscape that calls to the ghosts of Cavan’s rich history.

Milltown is a small town located in Cavan which serves as a unique anchor for tourists as they travel to the outskirts of this homely village to explore the ruins that surround it. The Monastery, Abbey, Church and Round Tower of the Drumlane are situated just beside Milltown. The massive stone structures date back as far as 555 AD. A number of saints are believed to have roamed Drumlane, and imprints in stones nearby a well are said to be the knees of St. Mogue.

Londonderry

The walled City of Derry is a bustling hub of activities for travelers. Its placement near the open seas tucked within the hilly countryside of the county makes the aesthetic of the city truly stirring. Its walls provide visitors and inhabitants with a unique architectural piece of history standing strongly against the foreground of a modern city hum.  Tower Museum guides visitors through the city’s history including the shipwrecks that brought Spaniards in the 16th century. St. Columb’s Cathedral, built in 1628 and consecrated in 1634, was the first Protestant cathedral to be constructed in Europe since the Reformation. The cathedral houses the earliest church bell in Ireland and many relics of the 1688-1689 city siege; the cathedral’s stained glass windows depict scenes from the siege. The Museum of Free Derry is an archive focusing on the civil rights era of the 1960s and the Troubles of the 1970s.

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