Day Trips from Dublin - Dublin - page 363

SIGHTS

Howth is essentially a very large hill (known as Howth Head) surrounded by cliffs, and the
peak (171m) has excellent views across Dublin Bay right down to Wicklow. From the sum-
mit you can walk to the top of the Ben of Howth, which has a cairn said to mark a
2000-year-old Celtic royal grave. The 1814 Baily Lighthouse, at the southeastern corner, is
on the site of an old stone fort and can be reached by a dramatic cliff-top walk. There was
an earlier hilltop beacon here in 1670.

HOWTH CASTLE
MAP GOOGLE MAP
Most of the town backs onto the extensive grounds of Howth Castle, built in 1564 but
much changed over the years, most recently in 1910 when Sir Edwin Lutyens gave it a
modernist makeover. Today the castle is divided into four very posh private residences. The
original estate was acquired in 1177 by the Norman noble Sir Almeric Tristram, who
changed his surname to St Lawrence after winning a battle at the behest (or so he believed)
of his favourite saint. The family has owned the land ever since, though the unbroken chain
of male succession came to an end in 1909.
On the grounds are the ruins of the 16th-century Corr Castle MAP GOOGLE MAP and an an-
cient dolmen (tomb chamber or portal tomb made of vertical stones topped by a huge cap-
stone) known as Aideen's Grave . Legend has it that Aideen died of a broken heart after her
husband was killed at the Battle of Gavra near Tara in AD 184, but the legend is rubbish
because the dolmen is at least 300 years older than that.
The castle gardens MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 24hr) F are worth visiting, as they're noted for
their rhododendrons (which bloom in May and June), azaleas and a long, 10m-high beech
hedge planted in 1710 .
Also within the grounds are the ruins of St Mary's Abbey MAP GOOGLE MAP (Abbey St) F ,
originally founded in 1042 by the Viking King Sitric, who also founded the original church
on the site of Christ Church Cathedral. The abbey was amalgamated with the monastery on
Ireland's Eye in 1235. Some parts of the ruins date from that time, but most are from the
15th and 16th centuries. The tomb of Christopher St Lawrence (Lord Howth), in the south-
eastern corner, dates from around 1470. See the caretaker or read instructions on the gate
for opening times.
A more recent addition is the rather ramshackle National Transport Museum MAP

CASTLE

GOOGLE MAP

2-5pm Sat & Sun) , which has a range of exhibits includ-

(Howth Castle; adult/child & student €3.50/2;