1. o Mireia Clares Masdeu and
Natàlia Girona Gonzàlez.

2. o Markree Castle, the Cooper family home for 370 years, has been lovingly
restored by the current owner Charles Cooper and his wife Mary to
become one of the finest country house hotels in Ireland. Set in a
secluded 500 acre estate in County Sligo, peace and relaxation combined
with good food, fine wine and old-world charm make a stay at Markree a
step back in time.

3. o The Castle is one of the most exciting historic buildings on the island and displays the
collective talents of some of Ireland and England’s most distinguished architects. The
parklands were laid out by the distinguished landscape architect, Capability Brown.
The Castle was also a settling for a famous historical romance between King George IV of
England and, Elizabeth, the first Marchioness Conyngham. The King stayed in the Castle in
1821 and it is believed that the reason the road from Dublin to Slane is one of the straightest
roads in Ireland is because it was so designed to speed him on his journey. He dined in the
spectacular Gothic Revival Ballroom and the bedroom he slept in is known as the King’s Room to
this day.

4. o The cliffs of Moher are located just south of the Village of Doolin in
Co Clare Ireland. Rising slowly from Doolin they ascend to over 700
feet (213 meters) stretching south for nearly five miles (8km) to Hags
head. They are Irelands premier tourist attraction and a must see for
anyone visiting Ireland.

5. o Kilkenny Castle is a castle in Kilkenny, Ireland built in 1195 by William
Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke to control a fording-point of the River Nore
and the junction of several routeways. It was a symbol of Norman occupation
and in its original thirteenth-century condition it would have formed an
important element of the defences of the town with four large circular corner
towers and a massive ditch, part of which can still be seen today on the
Parade.

6. o Originally built in 1185 by King John, Lismore Castle was owned in turn by
Sir Walter Raleigh and Richard Boyle, First Earl of Cork, before passing to
the Fourth Duke of Devonshire in 1753. The Castle is designed in Gothic
style and contains some of the finest examples of domestic Pugin furniture
still in private hands. The gardens, laid out over eight acres within the 17th
Century outer defensive walls, are believed to be the oldest in Ireland and
retain much of their original Jacobean form.

7. o This dramatic site, on the karstic limestone pavement of the Burren, is
one of the most famous Irish dolmens. The name Poulnabrone literally
means 'The hole of the sorrows'.
The thin capstone sits on two 1.8m high portal stones to create a chamber in
a 9m low cairn. The eastern portal stone was replaced in 1985, following a
discovery that it was unfortunately cracked; excavations during the repair
showed that this site dated back to about 2500 BC.

8. o Ashford Castle is a medieval castle turned five star luxury hotel
near Cong on the Mayo/Galway border in Ireland, on the shore of
Lough Corrib. Ashford Castle is a member of the Leading Hotels of
the World organization. The castle was built in 1228 by the Anglo-
Norman House of Burke following their defeat of the O'Connors, the
Royal House of Connacht, who are still extant in the person of the
O'Connor Don.

9. o Birr Castle is a large castle in the town of Birr in County Offaly,
Ireland. It is the home of the seventh Earl of Rosse, and as such
the residential areas of the castle are not open to the public,
though the grounds and gardens of the demesne are publicly
accessible. There has been a castle on the site since 1170, and
from the 14th to the 17th century the O'Carroll family ruled from
here over an area known as "Ely O'Carroll“.

10. o Bunratty Castle is a large tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It lies in the
center of Bunratty village, between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and
its airport. The name Bunratty, Bun Raite in Irish, means the 'bottom' or end of
the 'Ratty' river. This river, alongside the castle, flows into the nearby Shannon
estuary. From the top of the castle, one can look over to the estuary and the
airport.
The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage.

11. o Portumna Castle, built near the shore of the northern extremity of Lough
Derg on the river Shannon in the reign of James I. It was built between 1610
and 1618 at a cost of £10,000.
Portumna was one of the first, if not the first, building in the country to admit
some of the Renaissance refinements already common in Italy and France for over
a century, but which took so long to filter through to Ireland. It measures 29.7m
by 21.2m and the corner towers are 6.5m square with gunports. A central corridor
3m wide.

12. o Malahide Castle, set on 250 acres of park land in the pretty
seaside town of Malahide, was both a fortress and a private home
for nearly 800 years and is an interesting mix of architectural
styles.
The Talbot family lived here from 1185 to 1973, when the last
Talbot died.