Leading newspaper The Guardian has named Rathmullan as being one of Ireland’s Top Ten Most Charming Villages.
The accolade will do the seaside village no harm as tens of thousands of readers (from Bedfordshire to Cheshire) plan their summer holidays.
Locals in Rathmullan were quick to spot the listing and were busy posting it on social media over the weekend.
As well as lovely Rathmullan, the newspaper also mentioned Valentia Island in Kerry and Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford.
Here’s what they had to say about Rathmullan:
“Few would believe that this sleepy village, which dips and curls around a sandy beach on Lough Swilly, could have played such a deadly role in Irish history. It’s a veritable checklist of all that went wrong in Ireland from the late 16th century – from the kidnapping of young Red Hugh O’Donnell by Queen Elizabeth’s lord deputy Sir John Perrot to the flight of the Earls and collapse of Irish societal structure and the capture and execution of revolutionary Wolfe Tone.
“A magnificent medieval friary, destroyed in those frenzied years, overlooks the lake, and Rathmullan House a tranquil heritage property, has exquisite rooms (from €160 B&B).
“The village is the gateway to the beautiful east coast of the Fanad peninsula, one of the most northerly points in Ireland and home to some of its finest beaches along Ballymastocker Bay; and the ridged mountains offer spellbinding views across valleys, lakes and coast. After a day exploring, drink in the lake-view setting of Inch Island and Inishowen peninsula from Rathmullan’s Beachcomber Bar.”
For full story see https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2023/feb/04/10-of-irelands-most-charming-villages
