Dun Aengus, Inishmore

You will have to go to the visitor centre and pay your admission ticket (2 euro) before you can enter the fort. From here you have to go by foot towards the fortress Dun Aonghasa (Dun Aengus). It’s about 900 metres uphill. It will take you about 20 to 30 minutes to reach the fortress.

Dún Aengus - The Fort of Aonghasa - is located on the edge of the island on top of a 90m high sea cliff. Dún Aengus is one of the finest prehistoric monuments in Western Europe. It consists of 3 irregular concentric walls, all of them end on the cliffs-edge all designed to keep the enemies outside. There is a fourth wall that gave added protection along the West Side. At the other side, the cliffs form a natural defence. The main enclosure is horse-shoe shaped and in the centre there is a sort of natural “table rock”. The enclosure is guarded by razor sharp stones standing upright they are called “chevaux de fries”.

Its legendary owner, Aonghusa, was a chief of the Fir Bolg who are said to have been the earliest inhabitants of the island. After the Battle of Moytura they fled first to Meath and then to Connaught and settled on lands along the western seaboard, including the Aran Islands. The Firbolgs later lost the islands to the Eoghanacta of Munster.

Who build it? Why on this place? People still don’t know for sure who and when this place was build. Estimates go from a few centuries B.C until the eight or ninth century. The fort has no water supply so it can’t withstand a long siege. It’s builders can be the legendary Fir Bolgs or the Danes.

But when you stand there and look towards the fortress, you fell impressed by the huge stone walls that make the horse-shoe enclosure. And the cliffs that drop 90 metres towards the sea-level are an impressive sight.

You can find more photos on my Mysterious Dun Aengus travelogue.

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Dun Aengus is a magestic ancient fort at the top of 90 meter cliffs that drop to the sea. Our bus driver explained with the utmost seriousness that the Irish only have when pulling your leg, that these cliffs are why there's no divorce on the island.

An arial view is the only way to understand the scope of this fort but our pictures gave it a go. We enjoyed hiking up at 6pm - after most tourists had gone - and getting as close to the (unfenced) edge as we dared.

This is the major attraction on Inishmore. It is a large stone fort built about 2000 years ago that is located at the edge of a 300 foot cliff. It used to have two walls that completed enclosed it. But through time, the walls next to the cliffs have been destroyed. So when you walk into the central part of the fort you get an unrestricted view of the Atlantic ocean. The edge of the cliff has no guard-rails or any other obstruction, so you get to walk all the way to the edge (watch out, it could get pretty windy).

There is a 2 euro entrance fee before 6 PM, afterwards it is free. There's a 1 km walk from teh entrance to the fort. The best time to visit is after 6 PM, since the last ferries have left the island and the day-trippers are not crowding the place up. During the summer the sun is up pretty late (the photo is from around 11 PM), so the later you go the more likely it is that you’ll find the fort all to yourself.

The main enclosure is horse-shoe shaped and in the centre there is a sort of natural table rock. The enclosure is guarded by razor sharp stones standing upright they are called chevaux de fries.. You will have to go to the visitor centre and pay your admission ticket (2 euro) before you can enter the fort. From here you have to go by foot towards the fortress Dun Aonghasa (Dun Aengus). It's about 900 metres uphill. It will take you about 20 to 30 minutes to reach the fortress.

Dun Aengus - The Fort of Aonghasa - is located on the edge of the island on top of a 90m high sea cliff. Dun Aengus is one of the finest prehistoric monuments in Western Europe. It consists of 3 irregular concentric walls, all of them end on the cliffs-edge all designed to keep the enemies outside. There is a fourth wall that gave added protection along the West Side. At the other side, the cliffs form a natural defence

When you go towards the fort from the visitor centre, you will notice on top of the hill a stone wall that you have to pass. Dun Aengus consists of 3 concentric walls and the main enclosure is a horse-shoe shaped stone wall. These walls protect the fort towards three sides.

And one side is not guarded, why? Well look at the 90 metres high cliff and you already know why this isn't defended, it's already a natural defence system.

But between the third and second wall there is also an other defence system that?s called "chevaux de fries". These are razor sharp stones and they are standing upright. It's almost impossible to penetrate between these stones towards the other walls.

You can find more photos on my Mysterious Dun Aengus travelogue.

Inishmore´s best known landmark is Dun Aengus, a huge ancient stonefort on the West coast of Inishmore, on top of a high cliff. Now, why people at the time should be bothered to build such a massive defence fort in the very West of Ireland where New York is the next stretch of dry land has still not been resolved, as far as I know.

There is a parking space for bicycles at the Dun Aengus visitor centre, but you'd better remember exactly where you left your bike, because most people will have rented their bike at the same place as you, and on your return from the fort you might have some problems picking yours out of the hundreds of identical bikes :-)

A massive semicircular ring fort of three concentric enclosures lodged on the edge of cliffs that plunge 300ft into the Atlantic. From the inside of the fort, you can have an excellent view of the sea and the cliffs. It's beautiful!

Dun Aengus is the most popular fort on Inishmore - it is also the biggest one as well as one of the finest prehistoric monuments in Europe! In summer you won't get a quiet moment to yourself here. People are literally queueing to get their picture taken at the scenic spots! Most people are more interested in the cliffs than in the fort itself here.

Lie down on the cliffs of Dun Aengus
Almost 100 metres high and your chance to lie down on a cliff if you - like us - can't lie down on the Cliffs of Moher (they were closed off because of the Foot & Mouth scare)