Derrynane tops list of Kerry’s most visited OPW sites

KERRY’S tourism credentials were rubber stamped this week with the list of the most popular Office or Public Works (OPW) visitor attractions released, and Derrynane House and Parklands has been named amongst the most-visited heritage sites in the country.

Over 324,000 visitors came to the former ancestral home and gardens of the Liberator Daniel O’Connell in 2023, according to the figures released in recent days.

This was a significant increase from 2022, when there were 288,267 visitors at the historic site, which occupies an area of 120 hectares in one of the nation’s most-beautiful stretches of coastline in southwest Iveragh.

Ross Castle in Killarney is also amongst the most popular visitor sites and, while its has fewer visitors than Derrynane, it is amongst the most popular ‘ticketed’ (payin) destinations in the country. In fact, the historic castle overlooking the lakes was the only Kerry destination in the top 10 ticketed OPW sites in the county.

The heritage site had a total of 116,587 visitors in 2023, up from 86,324 in 2022.

Kilkenny Parklands and Castle topped the list as the most-visited ticketed locations and was also the most-visited OPW site in the country.

The figures also show that regional heritages saw a significant increase last year with Ionad an Bhlascaoid – The Blasket Centre in west Kerry – which witnessed a 58-per-cent increase in visitors in 2023 at 68,605. However, the island saw a reduction in its visitor numbers.

Also in west Kerry, Gallaras Oratory proved popular, with almost 50,000 visitors in 2023.

One of the best-known sites in the county, Skellig Michael, had 15,916 visitors in keeping with the restriction on visitor numbers, enforced in order to protect the UNESCO heritage site.

Both Ardfert and Listowel Castles had similar visitor numbers, with 12,468 visiting Listowel Castle and 12,398 visiting Ardfert Castle

The Office of Public Works (OPW) announced that 2023 was another successful year for visitor numbers at its heritage sites. The number of recorded visitors last year exceeded 15.3 million, up from 15million in 2022.

“The 780 sites under the care of the Office of Public Works contribute to the local sense of place, the local economy and are great places for domestic and international tourists to enjoy,” Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Patrick O’Donovan, said.

“The 2023 visitor data clearly indicates that there is a strong interest in heritage tourism and that an increasing number of visitors regard Ireland’s heritage sites as great places to visit.”