Offaly provides visitors with beautiful scenery, historic sites, and an amazing distillery that attracts visitors from all over the world.
With all these factors in mind, Hospitality Ireland decided to examine the top five visitor attractions in Offaly, based on Fáilte Ireland’s Visitor Attractions Survey 2022.
1. Birr Castle’s Gardens And Science Centre
(101,401)
Birr Castle’s Gardens and Science Centre is the most popular visitor attraction in Offaly, with 101,401 visitors as of 2022. When built by the Third Earl of Rosse in 1845, the Birr Castle Great Telescope was the largest telescope on Earth, capable of seeing further into space than any telescope had done before.
The I-LOFAR consortium has built a cutting-edge astrophysics observing facility in Birr Castle that connects to the International LOFAR Telescope – one of the most advanced astrophysics research projects in the world.
The castle tour includes a one-hour guided tour of the reception rooms of Birr Castle, with access to the Science Centre, the Great Telescope, and the beautiful gardens, which include roses, wisteria, magnolias, and towering box hedges.
2. Clonmacnoise
(94,677)
Founded by Saint Ciarán in the mid-sixth century, Clonmacnoise is one of the most famous monastic sites in Ireland.
Many historical manuscripts, including the eleventh-century Annals of Tigernach and the twelfth-century The Book of the Dun Cow, were written here.
Visitors from all over the world can see three high crosses, a cathedral, seven churches, and two round towers. The preserved structures of Clonmacnoise Cathedral, Temple Doolin, Temple Hurpan and Temple Melaghlin are available to enjoy.
3. Lough Boora Discovery Park
(89,000)
Lough Boora Discovery Park is an outdoor experience for families, walkers, and nature lovers.
Visitors can see sculptures on the looped walks, hire a bike to check out the cycle route, try a spot of angling, or bring the kids on the fairy trail.
Guided tours are available on the park’s art, ancient history and biodiversity.
4. Tullamore Dew Visitor Centre
(14,000)
Tullamore Dew Visitor Centre is a grain-to-glass distillery that spans 58 acres, where whiskey is milled, mashed, fermented, distilled, matured and bottled, all on one site.
During the distillery experience, visitors will sip and savour an Irish coffee on arrival, walk the still house floor, feel the heat from the bubbling stills, and taste the world’s second-largest Irish whiskey brand’s award-winning products.
At the end of the tour, visitors will get the chance to ‘be the blender’ by blending and bottling their own unique whiskey to buy and take away.
5. Durrow Abbey
(1,446)
Durrow Abbey is part of an old woodland estate that is adjacent to the Durrow Abbey estate, which is the site of a sixth-century monastery founded by Saint Colmcille.
A treat for nature lovers, species remaining on site include Scots pine and Norway spruce, and some birch and rowan.
Other flora include rushes, grasses, bracken and meadowsweet.
