School Holidays In Ireland

The school holidays are here, which is fantastic news for the millions of school kids desperate to get away from the classroom but maybe not such great news for parents. Many face juggling work with keeping the kids occupied during the summer break and many parents choose to make their annual holiday a school break family affair.

But before you start planning a week on the Spanish beach why not consider an activities and interests holiday in Ireland.   There are hundreds of visitor attractions, castles, grand houses, forest and fells, rivers and Loughs and towns and cities to occupy even the most active of families. There’s plenty of beautiful open spaces to let the kids run wild or get them searching for wildlife or there’s miles of fantastic coastline to try their hand at board surfing, kayaking, safe swimming or just rock pooling.  And with its relaxed atmosphere and friendly people Ireland is a welcoming place for families and kids.

Family Fun In Ireland

Go wild and meet the animal life.  Ireland has a great diversity of animals, birds and sea life. A great starting point is Grove Gardens and Open Farm in Meath, East Ireland.  The kids can explore the 10 acres of lovely gardens and park land to track down the wildlife from tropical birds to farm animals while you relax and enjoy the pretty gardens and walkways. And at the end of the day you’ll all enjoy a cuppa and treats at the Grove’s restaurant.

Another fantastic wildlife experience is the Kilrush Shannon Dolphin Trail.  Get your walking boots on and take your Dolphin spotting binoculars and follow the trail to the Aylevaroo Point overlooking the Shannon Estuary – a great dolphin spotting spot!  Starting in the Market Square you will follow the Dolphin Trail past the amazing ‘mother and calf’ sculpture, the life size replica cetaceans floating in the Marina to the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Centre. Here you’ll see and hear amazing things about the bottlenose dolphins that visit the Shannon Estuary, you might even choose to take a dolphin watching boat trip to get up close and personal with the pods.

Festivals and Fun Days

Ireland is a great place for festivals and celebrations and with the Irish bank holiday weekend coming up soon there’ll be plenty on.  Try the Touch and Taste Festival at Navan, Armagh. You’ll experience all sorts, rare breed animals, pottery demonstrations, stone carving, blacksmith demonstrations, vintage farm machinery, traditional crafts and much, much more. Or there’s the Rosscarbery Family Festival which is a week long extravaganza of quirky traces (race your mouse, dog or even pig!); join in group singing, sand sculpture competitions, a vintage car run and the Monster Rag Parade. Or for a more traditional experience take a day trip to the Garnish Family Festival in Beara which includes the best dressed dog and cat, bonny baby, clothesline, tractor and trailer and superman competitions, obstacle trails, sheaf throwing, crazy golf, horse shoe pitching, traditional Irish dancing and set dancing.
 
For a truly amazing day out for kids – both big and small – cast your eyes skyward for the Northern Ireland Balloon Festival. Over the August bank holiday weekend hundreds of wonderful hot air balloons will take to the air – there is even a night flight planned. There will be plenty of other things to do in between flights – the funfair, live music and great food.

There is so much more to see and do in Ireland, for kids of all sizes. If you want to find out more try Imagine Ireland’s Holiday Maker Information or why not browse the Discover Ireland website.  And if you want to find the perfect family holiday cottage just take a look at Imagine Ireland’s wide range of Family Friendly Cottages.

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