Off the Tourist Trail

Discover the real Ireland in history-rich and crowd-free places

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These are the places where the pace slows, the crowds thin, and the stories grow richer with every crooked street corner and moss-covered wall. Stepping off the tourist trail means stepping into the Ireland of folklore and family roots—the one that’s still woven with the sound of a fiddle in a fire-lit pub, the scent of turf smoke, and neighbours who still greet you by name even if they just met you. For those seeking connection rather than spectacle, these villages offer a rare kind of hospitality—one that isn’t rehearsed, but real. While Ireland’s iconic landmarks like the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry hold undeniable charm, the true soul of the country lives quietly in its lesser-known villages.

From the medieval alleyways of Carlingford to the riverside quiet of Inistioge, each village reveals something different: ruined abbeys covered in ivy, artisan bread warm from a stone oven, or donkeys braying across windswept fields. Locals will share the legends of saints and smugglers with a wink and a story, and if you time it right, you might stumble into a céilí in the village hall or catch sight of white-tailed sea eagles over Lough Derg. Whether wandering ancient graveyards, shopping at a market of handmade crafts, or watching sheepdogs at work on a hillside, these villages offer not just things to do, but a feeling—of belonging, of slowing down, of finally arriving in the Ireland you always imagined.

In today’s email:-

• Off the Tourist Trail - Visit Ireland’s Underrated Villages which are history-rich and crowd-free. Each village is ideal for gentle exploration, local charm, and that emotional “return to the roots” feeling we crave:-

  • Birr, County Offaly

  • Carlingford, County Louth

  • Lismore, County Waterford

  • Ardmore, County Waterford

  • Adare, County Limerick

  • Kilfenora, County Clare

  • Inistioge, County Kilkenny

  • Mountshannon, County Clare

  • Dromahair, County Leitrim

  • Eyeries, County Cork

Off the Tourist Trail:-