Attractions in Ireland | Portmagee
Attractions in Ireland aren’t just the beautiful scenery of the land forms and ancient building or the rolling green hills, but the amazing stories is almost in every town, village and county.
Ireland is a destination renowned all over the World for its beauty. Ireland and in particular South Kerry is a must visit destination for everyone at least once in their lifetimes.
It is then no wonder that in 2011 readers of Frommers Guide (among most trusted names in travel) voted Ireland as their favorite holiday destination in the world.
In today’s post I am going to speak about the Portmagee, the fantastic tourism town in South Kerry which received the accolade as the National Tourism Town in 2012.
Ireland Attractions
Before I get into Portmagee, let me give you a flavor of attractions in Ireland that you must consider paying a visit now or soon;
- Unique Islands E.g. Skellig Islands & Aran Islands
- World Renowned Castles e.g. Blarney Castle in County Cork
- History and Culture e.g. amazing history of Skellig Michael Monks,
- Festivals E.g. Cahersiveen Festival of Music & Arts in August
- Stunning Cliffs E.g. Kerry Cliffs, Cliffs of Moher
- Awe-Inspiring Driving Routes E.g. Skellig Ring, the Ring of Kerry, Wild Atlantic Way
- Fascinating Artefacts e.g. Bru Na Boinne Tombs of Country Meath which are said to be older than England’s Stonehenge and Egypt’s legendary pyramids.
- Adventure tourism e.g. paragliding, Surfing, Sea Kayaking, Caving, Camping, Mountain biking, Rock climbing, as well as a fantastic experience of hiking along Ireland’s evergreen hills and cliffs
Having mentioned the few above, it’s really hard to get around all these attractions in Ireland within a single post guys as there are so many and each of them has its uniqueness. You can also explore more on the attractions here .
The history of Portmagee,
Hosting many attractions in Ireland, this beautiful village is reach in History. Portmagee is derived from Port of Magee! But who is this Magee? During 18th Century emerged a notorious man in the name of Theobald Magee who served in the famous King James Irish army.
After he retired from army services Captain Magee positioned himself in early mercantilism where he operated in the countries of France, Portugal and here Ireland.
Captain Magee accumulated a lot of capital by smuggling around South West Kerry’s coastline where the policies could not access easily. With loads of contraband spirits, textiles, tea and tobacco plundered by Captain Magee, he soon emerged as the most feared merchant of his time. The port became very lucrative to Theobald Magee.
Portmagee Village
The village of Portmagee is located on the Iveragh Peninsula, South of Valentia Island in County Kerry Ireland.
Portmagee is a crossing point to Valentia Island which also hosts loads of Attractions in Ireland.
The bridge from Portmagee to Valentia Island was built in 1970 and it was named in memory of young farmer Maurice O’Neil who was captured and executed in 1942 during second campaign against the Northern Ireland polity.
Places of Interest around Portmagee
Though small, the village hosts fantastic attractions in Ireland. Uniqueness of Portmagee prompted for it to be voted the top tourism town in Ireland in December 2012 hence becoming the first town in Ireland to be awarded the accoladeJ.
Let’s explore some of places of interest in Portmagee below;
- Skellig Islands
- Skellig Experience Centre
- Valentia Island Tetrapod
- Illaunloughan archaeological site
- Kerry Cliffs
- Cill Riallaig Arts Centre
So whenever you’re thinking of visiting Ireland make Portmagee your number one destination guys. You can also read more about places of interest around Portmagee in one of our posts here, feel free.
Explore Skellig Islands in Portmagee
With our dedicated trips to Skellig islands which many consider to me one of top attractions in Ireland, book your trip with Skellig Michael Cruises now and we guarantee you a trip that will leave you awe-inspired.