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Derrynane House most popular OPW site in Kerry

Apr 3, 2024 13:15 By radiokerrynews
Derrynane House most popular OPW site in Kerry
Derrynan House, the ancestral home of the Liberator, Daniel O'Connell. Photo: August Schwerdfeger, from Wikimedia Commons
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Derrynane House and Parklands has been revealed as the most visited historical site in Kerry in 2023.

That’s according to the Office of Public Works which has released its national visitor figures.

Over 324,000 people visited Derrynane in 2023, a 12% decrease on the previous year, when over 355,000 visited the Liberator’s birth place.

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Ross Castle was second on the list of most visited sites in Kerry with over 116,000 people visiting the 15th-century tower house in Killarney last year.

The OPW’s 2023 data shows a significant increase in visitors to the Ionad on Bhlascaoid/Blasket Island visiting centre with over 68,000 visitors, compared to 43,000 in 2022 and 11,000 in 2021.

The Blasket Islands themselves showed a loss in visitors with fewer than 6,000 (5,905) visitors last year compared to 12,000 in 2022.

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Other OPW sites in the county saw an increase in visitors including Gallarus Castle, Scelig Mhichíl and Ardfert Cathedral.

Listowel Castle which was closed in 2021 saw over 12,000 visitors pass through its site in 2023.

 

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Site:                                                      2021            2022         2023

Derrynane House and Parklards      355,622         288,267      324,065

Ross Castle                                                5,267           86,324       116,587

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Ionad an Bhlascaoid                             11,067            43,348        68,605

Gallarus Castle                                      34,077            19,591         49,800

Scelig Mhichíl                                       12,105             14,197          15,916

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Listowel Castle                                  closed                 8,847           12,468

Ardfert Cathedral                              8,594                 9,526           12,398

Bhlascaoid Mhóir                            8,137                  12,000            5,905

 

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