McKevitt's Village Hotel > Things to see & do.

Boat hire, cabaret & discos, Heritage Centre, hill walking, guided history tours, golf, Irish pubs, medieval building, restaurants, outdoor activities centre, sea fishing, sailing, traditional music, wind-surfing Carlingford oysters are a particular local delicacy.

MEDIEVAL HERITAGE: Guided History Tours of Carlingford are available through the Carlingford Heritage Trust. The area rich in castles and mediaeval buildings and Carlingford town in particular has an excellently preserved selection.

The Tholsel is the only surviving town gate in Carlingford and one of very few in Ireland. Contemporary with the 15th century town wall, it functioned as a toll gate where taxes were levied on goods entering the town. It is recorded in 1834 that the building was used by the Corporation of Carlingford for meetings and a Parliament is said to have convened there and made laws for the Pale. It was also used as the town gaol in the 18th century. Originally three storeys high, its present appearance is due to alterations made in the 19th century.

King John's Castle - 12th century This early Norman fortress was named after King John who visited Carlingford in 1210. The western portion of the castle predates this visit and was probably commissioned by Hugh de Lacy c. 1190. A massive curtain wall divides the earlier western courtyard from the eastern wing, which contained the living quarters. The eastern section was constructed in the mid 13th century and has alterations and additions dating from the 15th and 16th centuries. The castle commanded an important defensive position on the Lough but by the 16th century it was described as in a wretched condition and remained so until conservation work in the 1950s.

Carlingford town's failure to attract industry in the past means that visitors still experience the original medieval fabric, fossilised in its past, unlike neighbouring towns such as Dundalk where all traces of medieval defences were removed by the first half of the 18th century. Two hundred years ago a noted Irish scholar reflected, "There is a medieval suggestiveness about it which carries one back many centuries and fills the mind with vague dreamings". Today, that essential character still remains with narrow streets and many of the original buildings. The major historical buildings include the 12th century King John's Castle and the fortifed Dominican Friary dating from 1305. The Mint and The Tholsel, a medieval toll house, both date from the 15th century. Taaffe's Castle was built in the 16th century as home to a wealthy merchant. Carlingford's rich history is brought to life today in the Holy Trinity Heritage Centre, located in a restored medieval church.

WALKING

The area surrounding Carlingford Lough is a walkers paradise. Unspoilt rolling countryside dotted with villages and occasional small towns. Dramatic hill and mountain country. Clean, fresh air that's crystal clear - the views go on for ever. And a warm welcome everywhere - guaranteed.

The Cooley Peninsula provides excellent, moderate hill walking, particularly in the Cooley Mountains and Slieve Foy. The Tain Trail is a 26 km marked walk in the beautiful Cooley and Carlingford mountains, starting from the medieval town of Carlingford, providing spectacular views over the surrounding countryside and across Carlingford Lough. For information contact:

The northern shore of the Lough backs on to the Mourne Mountains which provide a variety of moderate and rugged walks and rock climbs. Best is the Mourne Wall Walk which follows the 22 mile boundary drystone wall which links the main peaks. It was built 90 years ago to enclose the Silent Valley, dammed to create the reservoir that supplies most of Northern Ireland's water.