Brú na Bóinne

Ok, this is probably going to be of interest to you, if you're looking for day trip opportunities from Dublin. Newgrange, Tara Hill, River Boyne and surroundings are just ideal for this purpose.

We just rented a car for the day, and drove up to the Hill of Tara, making our way to Newgrange, from there to the Battle of the Boyne site (although actually couldn't find that one), from there to the Monasterboice Monastery site, Slane Abbey and the Castle Trim.

Especially the Newgrange site, which is only a small part of the whole of Bru na Boinne, was very impressive!

Brú na Bóinne (Irish for Palace of the Boyne) is a World Heritage Site in County Meath, Ireland and is the largest and one of the most important prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe. It is a complex of Neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, henges and other prehistoric enclosures, some dating from as early as 35th century BC -32nd century BC. The site predates the Egyptian pyramids and was built with sophistication and a knowledge of science and astronomy, which is most evident in thepassage grave of Newgrange. The site is often referred to as the "Bend of the Boyne" and this is often (incorrectly) taken to be a translation of Brú na Bóinne (Palace of the Boyne).The site covers 780ha and contains around 40 passage graves, as well as other prehistoric sites and later features. The majority of the monuments are concentrated on the north side of the river. The most well-known sites within Brú na Bóinne are the impressive passage graves of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth all famous for their significant collections of megalithic art. Each stands on a ridge within the river bend and two of the tombs, Knowth and Newgrange appear to contain stones re-used from an earlier monument at the site. There is no in situ evidence for earlier activity at the site, save for the spotfinds of flint tools left by Mesolithic hunters.However, the is evidence that this site was visited repeatedly during the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval periods, as evidenced by the multiple Beaker, Roman, and Medieval artefacts that were found during O'Kelly's excavations from 1962-1975.
- partly quoted from Wikipedia -