Fun for Kids

Dublin is a good city for kids, with lots of attractions they will enjoy and activities specially aimed at younger visitors.

However touring as a family means a different approach and a different pace then if there are just adults, and these three days are specially designed to ensure that all the family have fun.

An interesting old house in a beautiful location with Clew Bay on one side and a serenely lovely lake on the other.

There is a virtual theme park in the grounds, which won’t be to everyone’s taste but is terrific fun for kids.

May 7, 2010 to May 10, 2010.
Colourful street spectacles, live music, and extreme events are at the heart of this festival whose events take place mostly on the streets of Tullamore.

It’s very much a community affair with kids especially involved and enjoying the chances it gives them to dress up and get active.

April 3, 2010 to April 5, 2010.
This is a double event, with arts in its various guises for the adults while the kids enjoy their own special Bumble Bee Festival.

Its very much an activity based event, with lots of opportunity to dress up and join in, and is strongly community based, so visitors who attend will have ample chances to meet and socialise with local people.

August 4, 2010 to August 8, 2010.
This is the big event of the year for Irish show jumpers and horse breeders, a hugely competitive event with classes for all types of horse from tiny ponies to thoroughbred stallions.

And it’s not just the horses who are in competition. It’s an event for the style conscious too, with hotly contested best-dressed events for both women and men.

This fascinating centre tells the often tragic story of Irish emigration in a most vivid way and also commemorates the departure of the Titanic from Cove on its final voyage.

Not a traditional museum, it has reconstructions of what life was like in an emigrant ship and is located in the train stations which was the their last stop in Ireland.

May 12, 2010 to May 14, 2010.
The biggest event in Northern Irelands equestrian calendar, with the cream of show jumpers as well a show horses and young stock in attendance.

There is plenty for the non-horsey set to enjoy too, with livestock competitions, a large trade show, a food pavilion with cookery demonstrations and lots of fun activities for kids.

Perched high on a hill overlooking Belfast, this is a small zoo but a well run one, which is actively participating in breeding programmes for several endangered species.

There is a very active events calender, with varied activities suited to all ages, including the popular if pricy “Keeper for a Day” programme.

One of the earliest and most important Norman castles in Ireland sits high on a hill overlooking the river Nore at the heart of the city that grew up around it.

There are impressive grounds and gardens surrounding it and many of the other buildings in the area were in one way or another linked to life in the castle over the centuries.

A visit to Blarney Castle and a chance to kiss the Blarney stone are fixtures on many Irish tour itineraries, but is it actually a must-see or something of a tourist trap?

Well, the castle is pretty, there are good gardens around it and kissing the stone is a bit of harmless fun, but we’ll leave you to decide for yourself whether or not a visit is worthwhile.