Shannon travel guide

Top 10 sights in Shannon

Ranked by Wikipedia language editions — proven fame.

1. 

   1

   Bunratty Castle

   A fifteenth-century tower house in County Clare, restored in the 1950s and furnished with medieval pieces, standing beside a folk park of relocated cottages. Its great hall holds a nightly banquet with harpers.

   TiqetsKlook
2. 

   2© Mike Shinners · CC BY-SA 2.0

   King John's Castle

   A thirteenth-century castle on King's Island beside the Shannon, with round corner towers and a twin-towered gatehouse. Excavations under the courtyard exposed layers from Viking houses to Cromwellian siege works, and these are displayed in situ below the visitor centre.

   TiqetsKlook
3. 

   3© David P Howard · CC BY-SA 2.0

   St John's Cathedral

   The Catholic cathedral of Limerick, designed by Philip Charles Hardwick, begun in 1857 and first used for mass in March 1859. Its spire, added later, is the tallest in Ireland at just over ninety metres.

   TiqetsKlook
4. 

   4© Ruhrfisch · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Ennis Cathedral

   The cathedral of the diocese of Killaloe at Ennis in County Clare in Ireland, formally the cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

   TiqetsKlook
5. 

   5© Sean.magner89 · CC BY-SA 4.0

   St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick

   A Church of Ireland cathedral at Limerick, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It was formerly the seat of the diocese of Limerick, Ardfert and Aghadoe and is now one of the six cathedrals of the diocese of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe.

   TiqetsKlook
6. 

   6

   Hunt Museum

   A museum in Limerick's custom house of 1769, built on the collection of John and Gertrude Hunt — Celtic and medieval metalwork and ivories, with a Picasso drawing and a Renoir among them.

   TiqetsKlook
7. 

   7© https://www.flickr.com/people/sitomon/ · CC BY-SA 2.0

   Knappogue Castle

   A fifteenth-century tower house near Shannon. The MacNamara family built it, and it now serves as a venue for medieval banquets.

   TiqetsKlook
8. 

   8© jule_berlin · CC BY 2.0

   Quin Abbey

   The remains of a Franciscan friary at Quin near Shannon. It was built in the fifteenth century using the round towers of a Norman castle as its walls, and the overlap is plainly visible.

   TiqetsKlook
9. 

   9© Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0

   Ballymarkahan Castle

   A medieval tower house near Shannon, built by the MacNamara family and now standing as a ruin.

   TiqetsKlook
10. 

    10© Adrian King · CC BY-SA 2.0

    Craggaunowen

    An open-air museum near Shannon. A Bronze Age lake dwelling and an Iron Age ring fort have been reconstructed here at full size, and the leather boat in which Tim Severin recreated the voyage of Saint Brendan across the Atlantic is kept on the site.

    TiqetsKlook

Popular tickets & tours in Shannon

Live products and prices are provided directly by Klook.

KlookOpen Shannon activitiesBrowse tickets & toursKKdayOpen Shannon activitiesBrowse tickets & tours

Trending now

Based on 2025 Wikipedia pageviews — popular places beyond the top 10.

1. 

   1© Roger Diel · CC BY-SA 2.0

   Ballyhannon Castle

   A fifteenth-century tower house near Shannon. It has been restored and now operates as accommodation.

   TiqetsKlook
2. 

   2© Stevesphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Carrigogunnell

   The remains of a medieval castle on a rocky hill outside Limerick. It commands the Shannon estuary and was blown up in the eighteenth century, leaving it in ruin.

   TiqetsKlook
3. 

   3© Andreas F. Borchert · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Ennis Friary

   The remains of a Franciscan friary at Ennis, founded by the O'Brien family in the thirteenth century. Its medieval stone carvings of the Passion survive, including a much-copied figure of the scourged Christ.

   TiqetsKlook
4. 

   4© GilPe · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Fanning's Castle

   A medieval tower house in Limerick, built by a merchant family, with part of its wall still standing in a lane in the middle of the city.

   TiqetsKlook
5. 

   5© Stevesphotography · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Killulta Church

   A ruined church in the hills of east Limerick, its nave and chancel reckoned to date from the 12th century, standing in an old graveyard. It is protected as a national monument of Ireland.

   TiqetsKlook
6. 

   6© Digital Eye · CC BY-SA 4.0

   Killeen Cowpark Church

   The ruin of a medieval church in the townland of Cowpark, in the flat country southwest of Limerick city. Its Irish name means the little church of the cow field, and the roofless walls stand in an old graveyard, protected as a national monument of Ireland.

   TiqetsKlook