Non-tourist places to visit in Ireland?

I went a few years ago with my hubby, we stayed to the south east side of Ireland, and I preferred to stay out of the big cities. The only problem in avoiding tourist traps is that they tend to be good things to see, that's why the tourists are there. There were three areas that really stuck out to me as fun places, and there weren't too many tourists when we were there: Killkenny - super cute town with an absolutely gorgeous castle. There is also Black Abbey there, if you like churches. We walked around and enjoyed the town quite a bit. We also went to Jerpoint Abbey first thing the next morning, less than an hour away. We were the first ones there that day and got to spend an hour alone taking photos as the sun came up. Glendaloch - It's a monastery way off the beaten path. Tourists do go there, but it's a huge place, and I didn't find other people to be a distraction at all. Newgrange - Burial mounds. unbelievable. It's older than... well almost everything. When you go, there is an "Interpretation center", I forget the name, but you can go to a few different mounds. We did Knowth and Newgrange. I think we were lucky to encounter small crowds, but mostly because we went in the "off season", in October. It was in the low 60's, not too rainy, just gloomy and perfect. Enjoy!

First of all, only about 20% of what's actually there has been tarted up for the tourist market. Bunratty is only one tower house fortress, there are thousands around, and 2 within 2 miles of my house - I am located about 12 miles from Adare, in an area that's really pretty, but tourists seem to go to Adare. Basically all you need do is turn off one of the side roads and start exploring. I'd recommend visiting in May/June, that's when there are lovely long evenings and it stays light out until after 10pm. And as for visiting ruined castles - be careful as many of those are not safe to go clambering around on. For practical information, you could go to www.delphiforums.com and ask veteran Ireland visitors about their experiences on the forum entitled Everything Ireland.

I would think it would be nice to go to the county your familiy is from, that is Mayo... Such places that may be interesting in Mayo may be Ballina, a large but not a typical tourist town. But a really good spot for a tourist would be Westport in Mayo too. Best time to go is in Summer.

well i guess it depends on where your staying in ireland. its not very big but it takes awhile to get where your going if its not near you,definitely do not go to bunratty castle there is way to many tourists there! i love to visit cork because there's great shopping and a great zoo called foto park near there, the erin islands in county clair are really nice, kind of a tourist thing but still really pretty and has allot of history to it, if your going to dublin, kilmanum jail and the general post office(gpo) are great historical places. its best when you get to where your staying to go to the nearest tourist office and (there will be a tourist office because ireland makes allot of revenue from tourism) see what types of things you can do , i usually go in april to july months because the weather is usually warmer and you can find a really cheap flight.

http://trifter.com/europe/ireland/rathfran-friary/ http://trifter.com/europe/ireland/five-extraordinary-islands-off-ireland/