Failte Ireland - Ireland Buyers Guide 2018

FREE IRELAND’S ANCIENT EAST EXPERIENCES The Norman Way Heritage Trail Business Details Wexford County Council, Carricklawn,Wexford, Ireland Y35WY93 T  +353 (0) 53 919 6000 E  postmaster@wexfordcoco.ie W  www.thenormanway.com GPS  Coming from Rosslare Europort, the first NormanWay site is Lady’s Island (52.20971, -6.38014). At the other end of the ten sites is Kilmore Quay (52.172692, -6.589436). The new interpretive experience at St. Mary’s Church in New Ross is wonderful and marks what will be the end of the trail when completed. (52.396322, -6.941362) Business Contact  Eamonn Hore Experience The NormanWay is a heritage trail that runs along the beautiful south coast of CountyWexford. Along this Wexford Trail you will discover authentic medieval sites which will help you to understand the Norman way of life. All of the sites are free of charge. They range from medieval church ruins, to historic and picturesque villages to a windmill and more. All of the sites have a wonderful interpretive panel with bespoke illustration on site, along with bike racks. Most have NormanWay benches installed at them too. Take in one or two of these hidden treasures or travel along the NormanWay to see them all, while enjoying the local food, countryside and hospitality. The NormanWay offers a free GPS multimedia tour to accompany you as you travel along the NormanWay find out more on the www.normanway.com. Duration From 90mins – 2hrs, 4 days for the entire trail. Refreshments As you travel along the NormanWay there are several villages with a range of shops and charming local pubs and restaurants on hand. Parking, Access/Ability & Special Requirements Coach parking available at some sites. Most of the heritage sites on the NormanWay are not wheelchair-friendly. (However the largest, St. Mary’s Church in New Ross, is.) Nearest Accommodation Hub Wexford Town – www.discoverireland.ie Nearest Airport Dublin Airport – 1hr 50mins, Cork Airport 1hr 40mins Experiences Near By The Irish National Heritage Park (25mins) – www.inhp.com The Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience (35mins) – www.dunbrody.com Hook Lighthouse (40mins) – www.hookheritage.ie Laois Heritage Trails multilingual audio guides and app Business Details Laois County Council, County Hall, Portlaoise, Co. Laois, R32 EHP9 T  +353 (0) 57 8664129 E  ccasey@laoiscoco.ie W  http://www.laois.ie/departments/heritage/laois-heritage-trail/ Business Contact  Catherine Casey Experience This is a smartphone app to the heritage sites of Laois, available to download for free on I-tunes (Apple phones) and the Google Play store (Android). The app features maps, photos and audio guides to the sites of the Laois Heritage Trail and Laois Monastic Trail in English, Irish, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Mandarin. Three short films on the stories of the area, covering the historic houses and towns, the workhouse and the monastic story of Laois are all available in each of the languages on Youtube, at the link below: https://www.youtube.com/user/LaoisHeritage/playlists There are 30 sites covered in the app in total, the user can travel between sites or just select one or two to visit as they wish. Each site can be visited in about an hour, though this varies between sites. Group bookings/B2B rates Contact  As above Opening Details & Refreshments Most of the sites are unstaffed and as such are open year-round during daylight hours. The key sites at Abbeyleix, Donaghmore and Timahoe are open as below: Timahoe Open by arrangement, Phone Roghan Headen +353 (0) 87 681 3116, – https://www.facebook.com/Timahoeroundtower/?fref=ts Donaghmore, Mon-Fri 0900-1700hrs.Weekends by arrangement, phone Trevor Stanley +353 (0) 86 829 6685 , – https://www.facebook.com/ DonaghmoreWorkhouseMuseum/ Abbeyleix Heritage House open Tue-Sat, Phone Paula Maher +353 (0) 57-873 1653 – www.abbeyleixheritage.com Opening hours, contact details and entry fees for OPW-run sites (Heywood Gardens and Emo Court) can be found at – http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/ midlands-eastcoast/ Tearooms available at some sites. Parking, Access/Ability & Special Requirements Coach parking available. Dress for the weather. Some sites are not suitable for people with limited mobility, due to nature of the ground and/or slope Nearest Accommodation Hub Glaslough – www.discoverireland.ie Nearest Airport Dublin Airport – 2hrs 81