Location

Fingal offers the best of Ireland, old warm charm, scenery and a rich heritage. Fingal boasts tranquil hamlets in a rolling country landscape, picturesque seaside villages surrounded by sandy beaches and rugged coastline and vibrant urban towns of ancient heritage all offering excellent accommodation, fine restaurants, and friendly pubs.

Attractions

The majestic Malahide Castle and grounds, provide a wonderful day out for all the family.

• 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 eight hundred years. The Talbot family lived here from 1185 to 1973, when the last Lord Talbot died.
• Talbot Botanic Gardens, located within Malahide Demesne, include a 4 acre walled garden with seven glasshouses and 5,000 different species of plants. The gardens were created by Lord Milo Talbot between 1948 and 1973. NOTE: Both Malahide Castle building and the Talbot Botanic Gardens are currently closed for maintenance and refurbishment, however the grounds on the castle can still be visited.
   

Skerries is a particularly scenic coastal town which is renowned for its safe bathing, pleasant walks and friendly atmosphere, offshore islands with an abundance of wildlife and a harbour where the famous Skerries seals are often seen to relax.

• The Skerries Mills complex comprises a watermill, two windmills and associated mill races and ponds. The Mills, which date back to the early 16th century, demonstrate an efficient and clean use of water and wind power and are a rare survival of Ireland’s industrial history.

The National Transport Museum in Howth houses Ireland’s only comprehensive assembly of public and commercial road transport. A century separates the oldest of the exhibits from the newest. Newbridge House and Farm is a magnificent 18th century Georgian mansion set on 350 acres of parkland. The grounds also contain a 29 acre traditional farm, complete with farmyard animals. Ardgillan Demesne Castle and Gardens consists of an impressive castle, lovely rose and walled gardens, rolling pastureland and woodland walks. It is situated on the elevated coastline between Skerries and Balbriggan.  

Activities

With over 25 courses dotted throughout the county, Fingal is regarded as one of Europe’s foremost golfing destinations. Both experienced and novice golfers will find a course to suit their ability taste and pocket. Championship standard courses are complemented by top quality golf courses, driving ranges, public courses and pitch and putt courses.

For walking and cycling enthusiasts, peninsulas, beaches, cliff walks and coastal tracks, river valleys and country roads offer a quiet sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the towns. A small village, a friendly pub and comfortable accommodation are never far away and the welcome everywhere is heart warming.

Fingal enjoys an abundance of riches in the number and quality of itsbeaches. The major beaches are Donabate, Portmarnock, Skerries, Loughshinny, Rush, Portrane, Sutton, Barnageara, Balbriggan and Gormanston.

For water sports enthusiasts a trip to Fingal is not to be missed. The Dublin Bay Coastal Strip of Fingal offers excellent sailing, diving, windsurfingand leisure boating opportunities.

Heritage

Fingal’s rich heritage and long history is evident in the many famous buildings, churches, castles, great houses and archaeological sites located in the area. This wealth of monuments, some dating as far back as 5,000 years, reflect the various periods of Fingal’s history from Viking occupation to the diversity of Anglo-Irish history through to modern day Fingal.

Fingal is home to a wealth of monasteries, churches and towers. Some of the finer examples include the 6th century Lusk Round Tower with its attached tower house of 16th century origin. Swords Round Tower in the grounds of the Church of Ireland in Swords is all that remains of an early Christian foundation. St. Doulagh’s Church, Kinsealy occupies the site of a 7th century monastic settlement founded by St. Doulagh.

The twelve Martello Towers which once formed a coastal defence system against invasion along Fingal’s shores during Napoleonic times, still present vivid reminders of that era. 

How to get here

• The Dart connects Howth and Malahide to Dublin City Centre where it connects with mainline rail and the main city bus network.

• Irish Rail serves the East Coast of Fingal from Dublin to Balbriggan,stopping at Portmarnock, Malahide, Donabate, Rush, Lusk andSkerries.

• Fingal is served by over 30 bus routes.  See www.dublinbus.ie

• By road the M1 links Fingal to Dublin City Centre to the South and with Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry and Belfast to the North.

  Fingal Tourism, 
  Mainscourt, 
  Main St., 
  Swords, 
  Co. Dublin. 
  Tel: +353 (0)1 840 0077 
  Fax: +353 (0)1840 4988 
  e-mail: info@fingaltourism.ie
  Web: www.fingaldublin.ie

Failte Ireland operates Discover Ireland Centre in the Arrivals Hall's, Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, Dublin Airport.