7 Caves to Explore in Ireland

Aillwee Cave is Ireland's Premier Showcave. The cave system consists of over a kilometre of passages leading into the heart of the mountain. Its features include an underground river and a waterfall as well as some large stalactites and stalagmites. The remains of bears can also be seen inside the caves and allusions have been made to it being the last bear den in Ireland. The cave is typical of the Clare caves, consisting in the main of stream passage and ending in a sump.

The Maghera Caves are located beneath Slievetooey mountain and some are accessible at low tides from Maghera Strand. Maghera Beach stretches out into the bay. Access to the beach is via a car park and a short 200 metre walk to the caves. There are over 20 caves, 8 arches and 5 tunnels which can be visited, ideally by Kayak or other small craft, and would be enough to sate the appetite of any explorer.

Crag Cave is a cave in Ireland, located just outside Castleisland, County Kerry.Formed in elevated limestone rock, the system extends to 3.8 kilometres of surveyed passage, on two levels. It is a colourful wonderland of Stalagmites and Stalactites. Discovered by cave divers in 1983, the natural, all weather tourist attraction has dramatic sound and lighting effects. It is the 7th-longest cave system in the Republic of Ireland, and the 10th-longest in the whole of Ireland.

Doolin Cave is a limestone cave near Doolin in County Clare, Ireland, on the western edge of The Burren. The cave's most notable feature is the Great Stalactite. This is one of the world's longest known free-hanging stalactites. It is the longest known free-hanging stalactite in Europe, the three largest in the world being located in two caves in Mexico, and one in Jeita Grotto, Lebanon.

The Dunmore cave is a limestone cave and it's located at Ballyfoyle, County Kilkenny. It is comprised of a quarter of a mile of passages. At its deepest point, the cave is 150 feet below the ground. The caves are now accessible via stairs and walkways and extensive lighting makes for dramatic and easy viewing of the calcite deposits, plants and animal life.

The Marble Arch Caves are one of the most active river cave system in Ireland and the UK. The caves are named after the nearby Marble Arch, a natural limestone arch at the upstream end of Cladagh Glen under which the Cladagh River flows. The landscape encompassing the Marble Arch Caves was formed over 340 million years ago.

This is one of the most spectacular caves in Europe. It is situated on the Cork-Tipperary border. Mitchelstown Cave is a world without sun, without time, a world where man almost feels an intruder, stumbling on a past age, and an era where nature reigns supreme. Take a stroll through three massive caverns in which you are surrounded by indescribable dripstone formations, stalactites, stalagmites, graceful calcite curtains hang from sloping roofs.