Céide Fields Visitor Centre - Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland

The Céide Fields in North Mayo will certainly give you a unique experience. For this is not just another archaeological monument or visitor centre. Here you can indulge yourself in a vast prehistoric landscape, a natural wild ecology of blanket bog, dramatic cliffs and coastline, and a much acclaimed building, which has received Ireland's most prestigious architectural award.


The Céide Fields are the oldest known field systems in the world, over five and a half millenia old. It is a unique Neolithic landscape of world importance, which has changed our perception of our Stone Age ancestors. The remains of stone field walls, houses and megalithic tombs are preserved beneath a blanket of peat over several square miles. They tell a story of the everyday lives of a farming people, their organized society, their highly developed spiritual beliefs, and their struggle against a changing environment beyond their control.

Visit the multi-award winning Centre, which has exhibitions, audio-visual show and tearooms and take a guided tour with our professional guides and discover a buried wall for yourself using a centuries old method of probing. Experience the unique ecology of the bogland, with it's colourful mosses, sedges, lichens, heathers, flowers and insect-eating sundews while listening to the larks.

The Céide Fields Visitor Centre is run by Dúchas The Heritage Service and it houses displays and exhibitions in English and Irish. (Script of exhibition available in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish). Access for visitors with disabilities to ground floor of centre and to tearooms. Special parking may be arranged by prior arrangement. As much of the tour is outdoors, visitors are advised to wear weather protective clothing and shoes suitable for walking over uneven terrain.

 

 

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