The top ten places to celebrate Christmas in Ireland

Fun for everyone with a list of top destinations and outings for the holiday season

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The Wren Boys in Ballydavid, County Kerry

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PHOTOS: Top 10 places to spend Christmas in Ireland

There are few countries that celebrate a cozier, put-your-feet-up Christmas than Ireland.

With its family-oriented culture and the legendary friendliness of its people, spending the holidays in Ireland is one of the most rewarding decisions you could ever make.

The Irish love big and boisterous reunions and they love festivities on every scale, but they also love quiet evenings in with a few hand-picked friends in front of a crackling fire.

Visit Ireland in winter to see the soaring landscape celebrated by poets as varied as W.B. Yeats, Patrick Kavanagh and Seamus Heaney (you may want to take a volume of each writer’s work along for added atmosphere).

Here are Irish Central’s Top 10 places to celebrate Christmas in Ireland.

1. The Merrion Hotel
With its crackling open fire and rich Georgian drawing rooms, and the deep sofas and flowing champagne to get you in the spirit, the five-star Merrion Hotel is impossibly atmospheric at Christmastime.

Old world civility and elegance meet the wifi, text messaging 21 century here without missing a beat. The Merrion’s hospitality and superior service are simply a byword for luxury, which makes this venue one of the great hotels of the world.

Further information on their Christmas hotel breaks, festive packages and dining arrangements can be found on their website. Treat yourself to a Christmas break in Dublin this winter and we assure you you’ll never want to spend it anywhere else. 

2. Dromoland Castle
First built in the 15 century, Dromoland Castle in its present form was completed in 1835, although the site itself has been associated with Gaelic nobility since the Fifth century. Of course, being an Irish castle, it was often bitterly fought over, too: Queen Elizabeth I’s armed forces confiscated it at one point, but since they spent most of her long reign purloining Irish property, this was by no means unusual.

Nowadays the castle is a spectacular five-star hotel on rolling acres that is the ideal place to spend the Christmas holidays. Featuring a level of comfort and elegance that will delight you, Dromoland is the kind of venue even U.S. presidents marvel at (G.W. Bush was a guest here in 2004). Ask them about their special winter breaks and remember to find out about their legendary golf course.

3. Ballydavid, County Kerry
Ballydavid, County Kerry is a sleepy little Irish village nestling on the very edge of the Atlantic Ocean. But each St. Stephen’s Day (December 26) it comes alive to host the Wren Boys in a colorful and very ancient one day celebration in remembrance of a festival that was celebrated by the Druids (the Irish shaman or pagan high priests).

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