THE ISLAND OF IRELAND has an area of 21,8o3 square miles and a population of 5,275,ooo. Its climate is temperate; a 'soft' day- of which there can be many - means one on which it is not persistently wet; yet Ireland's reputation for rainfall is somewhat unfair, for statistics show that there is an average of only sixty-five days in the year without significant sunshine; and a fine August day by a Fermanagh lake or beside the sea in Connemara is so enchanting it puts all dreams of the Mediterranean or California out of one's head. ...

Clusters of white cottages huddled in a fold between hills of an unbelievably rich green ... villages of a single street, dazzling in their array of colour washes and picturesque shop-fronts and bar signs Such are the villages of Ireland,which are to this clay living, working communities. The vitality and warmth in a village pub or local shop proclaim a way of life not yet submerged under mass-tourism or the rash of holiclay homes that have blighted so many of Europe's prettiest villages.

The most beautiful of these villages are captured here in Christopher Fitz-Simon's sensitive commentaries and Hugh Palmer's evocative photographs.Following the divisions of the ancient provinces - Ulster in the north, Leinster in the east, Connacht in the west and Munster in the south and south-west- The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland is a journey full of rural gems,some famous, others less so. Here are the colourful coastal villages of Cork,stunning medieval churches of Roscommon and Galway, and the villages of Antrim, standing ruggedly in defiance of the northern seas.

The Most Beautiful Villages of Ireland is an unparalleled portrayal of the pastoral charms of the Emerald Isle.

Introduction

Ulster

 Belleek FERMANAGH

 Cushendall ANTRUM

 Glaslough MONAGHAN

 Loughgall ARMAGH

 Moneymore LONDONDERRY

 Plumbridge TYRONE

 Rathmelton DONEGAL

 Stranyford&Portaferry DOWN

 Virginia CAVAN

 Ancient Ireland

Leinster

 Ardagh LONGFORD

 Carlingford LOUTH

 Dalkey DUBLIN

 Enniskerry WiCKLOW

 Gowran KILKENNV

 Graiguenamanagh KILKENNY

 Kilmore Quay WEXFORD

 Slane MEAT

 Tyrrellspass WESTMEATH

 Bar and Shop Fronts

Connacht

 Boyle ROSCOMMON

 Inishmaan GALWAY

 Newport MAYO

 Rosses Point SLICO

 Roundstone CALWAY

 The Painted Villages

Munster

 Adare LIMERICK

 Allihies CORK

 Castletownsend CORK

 DunmoreEast WATERFORD

 Glengariff CORK

 Holy Cross TIPPERARY

 Kenmare KERRY

 Kilfenora CLARE

 Killaloe CLARE

 Knightstown KERRY

 Lismore WATERFORD

 Rosscarbery CORK

Map

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