3 Romantic Places in Ireland

WHEN WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS ECHOED HIS RENOWNED LINE OF“ROMANTIC IRELAND’S DEAD AND GONE”, HE CERTAINLY WASN’T REFERRING TO POTENTIAL SPOTS FOR A VALENTINE’S DAY BREAK.

We can’t even begin to detail all of the lovely landscapes, pretty pubs and hidden havens on offer for you and your beau, so we’re not going to try (lest we drive you mad with choice).

Of course if you can't make it to Ireland you could always send a bit of Ireland to your loved one with an Irish at Heart susbcription.

Every couple has a different take on what’s romantic, so we’ve picked the best of three approaches to romance that can be found in thebeautiful country of Ireland.

From an Inspirational Perspective

If you’re looking for somewhere a bit more whimsical to celebrate your love, then why not let yourself be inspired by the same landscapes as the great romantics before you, in ‘the place where the Dark Mournes sweep down to the sea.’

Percy French first penned this beautiful song in 1896, comparing the bustle of London’s city life, to the simple beautyof the ‘Mountains O’Mourne’ in his home of County Down. Since then the song has become an Irish Folk classic, popularised world-wide with Don Mclean’s adaptation in the seventies.

If you get the chance to visit the mountains yourself, it’s easy to see how they inspired such lyrical beauty. From the highest peaks of Slieve Donard which rise 850m into the sky, to the Silent Valley Reservoir which lies across the Kilkeel River, there’s no shortage of viewpoints to stopand admire your incredible surroundings.

Such is the beauty of the Mourne Mountains, that they seem almost to belong to a world infinitely more magical than our own, or so thought C.S. Lewis, when he reimagined them in his timeless creation of Narnia.

The mountains are currently under consideration to be the first National Park in Northern Ireland, but until then they are simply a beautiful place to be at peace with nature, and the one you love.