5 Things to Do in Kinsale, Ireland

Alyssa Hollingsworth | February 15, 2016

5. Explore

Kinsale is in fairly easy reach from a few other local attractions—like the city Cork—but there are other places the brave of heart can go to. Like Grace O’Malley’s (alleged) grave.

When we took the Kinsale Road Train, our guide happened to point off to a lone tower in the far distance and mention that (according to legend) the infamous Irish pirate queen Grace O’Malley was buried over there. As a 16^th century pirate, Grace definitely made some waves (haaaaa). Both my friend and I are big fans.

There is a lone gravestone out there marked with a skull and crossbones. Is it Grace O’Malley? Local legend says it may be. But regardless, scrambling through briers over a field in search of a pirate grave sounds like the beginning of an excellent story.

Alyssa Hollingsworth / Own Work

If scrambling through briers does not sound fun to you (I don’t know why it wouldn’t), there is plenty to explore closer to town. An old church—more ruin than anything—holds many interesting nautical graves on its grounds. There’s also a local history museum with artifacts and information about smuggling, piracy, and shipwrecks.

And that, my friends, is Kinsale.

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