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Coast & beaches
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Co. Cork · About 4 hours from DublinCape Clear and BaltimoreAn Irish-speaking island with no visitors' cars, wild flowers, seabirds and the Fastnet on the horizon. Cape Clear is West Cork at its most magical.
Co. Donegal · About 4 hours from DublinArranmore Island and the RossesFifteen minutes from the mainland, cliffs, a lighthouse, sandy coves and music in the pubs. Arranmore is the Donegal island most people have never heard of.
Co. Antrim · About 3 hours from DublinRathlin Island and BallycastleNo visitors' cars, one pub, tens of thousands of seabirds and views to Scotland. Rathlin is the Causeway Coast's best-kept secret.
Co. Kerry · About 5 hours from DublinValentia Island and PortmageeFossil footprints older than the dinosaurs, slate quarries, subtropical gardens and the Skelligs on the horizon. Valentia is the Kerry most people drive straight past.
Co. Down · About 1 hour 45 minutes from DublinNewcastle and the Mourne MountainsGranite peaks sweeping down to a sandy beach, forest parks full of stone bridges and a wall that marches over 15 summits. The Mournes are the North's best walking weekend.
Co. Cork · About 2 hours 45 minutes from DublinCobh and East CorkPainted houses climbing a hill, the Titanic's last port of call, a fortress island, a wildlife park and whiskey. Cobh is the easiest car-free weekend on the south coast.
Co. Galway · About 3 hours 30 minutes from DublinLeenane and Killary HarbourA long arm of the Atlantic with mountains rising straight from the water, a silent valley, mussels and the best boat trip in the west. Killary is wild Connemara at its finest.
Co. Waterford · About 2 hours 15 minutes from DublinDungarvan and the Copper CoastA harbour town with a castle, a cycle path through a railway tunnel, a coast of coves and mine ruins and some of the best food in the south. Dungarvan does it all.
Co. Donegal · About 3 hours 45 minutes from DublinInishowen PeninsulaThe very top of Ireland: empty beaches, a mountain pass, an ancient hilltop fort and, on a lucky winter night, the Northern Lights.
Co. Mayo · About 3 hours 45 minutes from DublinBelmullet & ErrisSea stacks, Stone Age fields under the bog, empty white beaches and the darkest skies in Ireland. Erris is the Wild Atlantic Way at its wildest.
Co. Antrim · About 3 hours from DublinBushmillsBasalt columns, a rope bridge over the sea and some of the best coastal walking on the island.