Dún Aonghasa

What a beautiful site! For 4 € you enter by foot and hike up to the castle fort. There were lots of people on their stomachs at the sites edge to view the 100m cliff drop. Did the same, what a rush but be careful. There is nothing between you and falling off the cliff.
Husband and I were walking around and found a secluded spot to nap. I took my shoes off to enjoy the grass how luscious compared to dry California.
Takes just under an hour to bike here from the ferry port.

Let me qualify my review by stating that I am from Chicago and our history is less than 200 years. When things, anything here gets older than about 5 years, we either tear that down or add a ridiculous wing that destroys all aesthetics of the original design. Now that you know that, please understand my deep appreciation and fascination for Dun Aonghasa.
It is believed that Dun Aonghasa was built in the Iron Age, maybe 1,100 BC. Amazing! The fort was built without heavy machinery with all local materials. Sustainability at its best. The walk up is supposed to be about 20 minutes, This is probably true, but it feels worse when the wind and rain is whipping sideways at 40 mph. The rain on the smooth stones can get slippery.
Reaching the top was fairly climactic for us because the weather kept telling us to stop. I am so glad we kept going. If you ever want a picture book definition of brooding, come here. The brooding cliffs invite you to look over at the cold gray ocean.
If you are in Galway or Rosamil with free time, do take the ferry over to Inishmore and explore Dun Aonghasa. You can take daring photos at the edge of the cliff to be shared on Instagram later, plus walk through thousands of years of history.

Wow. Breathtaking. The climb up and back down is a little challenging unless you’re fast on your feet but it’s worth it. Much of the front of the fort has fallen into the sea, allowing the most amazing views if you’re brave enough to go up to the edge. I went down on hands and knees as I’m terrified of both heights AND water, but it’s all good. No, it didn’t help me conquer my fear. Yes, I’d do it again, only because I am good at clinging to flat surfaces for dear life.

One of the most beautiful places that I have ever been. It really is magnificent, breathtaking, and a little scary all at the same time. No guardrails overlooking 100 meter cliffs plummeting into the frothy ocean. The view of the island itself from this ancient fortress is equally amazing. It appears like some giant created Inishmore with a cookie cutter and just dropped it into the ocean. If it weren’t for all the stone walls marking different properties, the landscape would feel almost alien.
To get here, take the 10:30am ferry from Rossaveal (Ros an Mhil) and grab a horse-​drawn coach (15 Euros pp) for a 3 ½ hour tour of Inishmore (Inis Mor) which includes Dun Aengus. It’s about a 20 minute walk up to the fort but well worth it.

Very impressive. Dun Aengus is an ancient fort which apparently used to be a full circle, but is now a semi-​circle due to cliff erosion. From the village of Kilronan, there are buses that take you there, or you can rent a bike (like I did) for € 10 and bike there. On a nice day it’s a very pleasant bike ride, especially if you go along the coast (you can stop halfway and look at the seals!)
Anyway, I found the fort to be fascinating. I love really old structures like that, and it’s super cool how you can walk right up to the cliffs. If this was America, there would be ropes and fences and stuff everywhere preventing you from getting near the cliffs, but here they just let you walk wherever. So that’s cool. It’s only a few euros to get in, so if you’ve gone all the way to Inishmoor there’s basically no reason NOT to go, as its the highlight of the island. There’s also a small /​lame visitor’s center and a little café, in case your hungry.
The only note I’d make is that it’s a bit of a hike (10 – 15 min) up a semi-​steep hill to the fort. Plan on an hour round trip.

A trip to Inishmore (by ferry) is worthwhile if you happen to be out in Galway and my husband insisted that we take the additional trip out to Dún Aonghasa/​Dún Aengus, having heard how cool it was.
I myself doubted that I would see its charm because we had already biked across Inishmore (about 12 miles) and you can’t access Dún Aonghasa without walking across the rocky landscape. It was also misting which is more like a ‘driving mist’ when you’re biking.
So, Dún Aonghasa (some of the following borrowed from Wikipedia in case you don’t know what is it) is a pretty impressive ring fort thought to be built during the Iron Age (fairly vague dating: ‘prehistoric’). It’s really old and rather large at 14 acres around.
Most historians tend to attribute a military/​defensive function to ring forts, but since my own research is in Irish farming, I have also read some compelling articles suggesting that the ring forts were used for herding animals (perhaps in addition to strategic uses).
It rests on a cliff overlooking the ocean and since I am a fan of the ocean, that is what made it worthwhile for me.