The Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare has once again topped Ireland’s list of popular landmarks, a new study has found.
The report was compiled by Baldwin Digital, which analysed online data on 119 landmarks or points of interest across Ireland, with at least a four-star rating on TripAdvisor and more than 500.
Each landmark was rated based on an index and ranked respectively according to the volume of TripAdvisor reviews, official website’s monthly search traffic, average monthly global searches, and Instagram hashtag counts.
Most popular Irish landmarks online
- Cliffs of Moher;
- Guinness Storehouse;
- Trinity College Dublin;
- The Book of Kells and Old Library;
- Wild Atlantic Way;
- Kilmainham Gaol Museum;
- Dublin Castle;
- Blarney Castle and Gardens;
- Temple Bar;
- Kylemore Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden.
The Cliffs of Moher ranked scored 92.99 out of 100, propelling it to the top of the rankings thanks to having the highest average monthly global search volume of 220,200.
The location also proves popular on Instagram, with posts under #cliffsofmoher reaching 729,412, second behind the Wild Atlantic Way.
Director and founder of Baldwin Digital, Mark Baldwin said: “It’s interesting to see which of Ireland’s beautiful, historic landmarks and tourist attractions capture people’s attention online around the world.
“Ireland’s natural, picturesque locations like the Wild Atlantic Way reign supreme on Instagram, while Dublin’s popular tourist destinations like the Guinness Storehouse and Temple Bar are among the most reviewed by TripAdvisor users.
“Dublin dominated the ranking with six of the 10 landmarks and points of interest found in the county, while iconic locations like the Ring of Kerry and Tipperary’s Rock of Cashel just missed out,” he added.
Dublin’s Guinness Storehouse fell just short of the top spot, claiming second with a score of 89.06 while Trinity College Dublin ranked third, scoring 87 out of 100.
The famous brewery tour has almost double the number of TripAdvisor reviews compared to any other location with 48,979 and organic monthly traffic to the official Guinness Storehouse website remains high at 119,000, second only to Trinity College Dublin.
Whereas the historical university attracts more website traffic than any other landmark or point of interest in Ireland, averaging 162,000 organic visits every month.
The Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s famous 2,600km long coastal route rounds out the five most popular landmarks online, largely due to its popularity on Instagram.
Approximately 1,869,098 posts have been shared under #wildatlanticway, more than double that of any other hashtag analysed in the study.
Blarney Castle and Gardens, home of the famous Blarney Stone, was Cork’s only landmark to make the cut, coming in at number eight.
An average of 36,100 Google searches are completed for this attraction every month and it’s the eighth most popular on Instagram, with 109,733 monthly posts shared under #blarneycastle.
Kylemore Abbey in Connemara, Co. Galway takes up the rear in 10th position, accumulating 45,000 average monthly Google searches and 58,940 posts on Instagram under #kylemoreabbey.
Cliffs of Moher
Leonard Cleary, director of tourism development and West Clare Municipal District for Clare County Council, said the walk has proven to be an invaluable addition to the county’s tourism offering over the past 10 years:
“The walk has proven to be hugely successful in attracting visitors who stay longer and spend more in the towns and villages in Clare, and it has particularly benefited the hospitality sector in Doolin and Liscannor.
“This contributes to sustaining the local economy and jobs for our next generation,” he added.