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Voykit pocket guide · Ireland
Oldcastle
An Seanchaisleán
Go for one night, or as a half-day from Kells: Loughcrew Cairns is the reason, and it is a 3 km walk or drive east of town.
Oldcastle is a small County Meath town of about 1,400 people whose only real draw is Loughcrew Cairns, a hilltop group of passage tombs older than Newgrange and far quieter. The town itself is a square, a few pubs and two or three places to sleep. Come for the tombs and the view; do not come for a town break.
- Country
- Ireland
- Local name
- An Seanchaisleán
- Best months
- May–Sep
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (wet, short days, sites exposed)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, including pubs and taxis.
- Daily spend
- Budget €55–85 excl. bed · Mid €85–140 excl. bed · High €140+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Vodafone, Three and Eir run the networks; prepaid SIMs (also 48, Tesco Mobile, GoMo) sell in phone shops and newsagents, no registration fuss.
- Emergency
- Police, ambulance, fire, coast guard 112 · Alternative emergency number 999
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Type G three-pin, like the UK; European and US plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–15% if service is not included.; Pub: Not expected when ordering at the bar.; Taxi: Round up.; Tour guide or driver: €5–10 per person for a day tour.; Hotel porter: €1–2 per bag.
- Water
- Tap water is safe; occasional local 'boil water' notices are posted by Uisce Éireann.
- Toilets
- Free in shopping centres, museums, pubs (as a customer) and many petrol stations; some public toilets charge 50c.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in a pub or café | €3–4.50 |
| Pub main course | €14–20 |
| Pint of stout or lager | €5.50–6.50 |
| Takeaway main (Chinese or Vietnamese) | €9–13 |
| B&B double room, per night | €80–140 |
| Tent pitch at Loughcrew, per person per night | €12 |
| Taxi, Kells to Oldcastle | €25–35 (check) |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- DUB · Dublin Airport
- Bus 109 to Kells, 80 min, then Bus 187 to Oldcastle; about 2 h 30 min door to door. Check current timetables.
Typical fares
- Bus 109 Dublin Airport → Kells
- hourly, about 80 min (check)
- Bus 187 Kells → Oldcastle
- four times Monday–Saturday, just under 1 h
- Taxi Kells → Oldcastle
- €25–35 (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The town is walkable in 10 minutes. Loughcrew Cairns is 3 km (1.9 mi) east off the R163: drive, cycle or walk the lane. There is no local bus to the cairns, so a car or bike decides your day. Bus 187 links Oldcastle with Kells, Virginia, Ballyjamesduff and Mount Nugent, four times Monday to Saturday, just under an hour end to end.The town is walkable in 10 minutes. Loughcrew Cairns is 1.9 mi (3 km) east off the R163: drive, cycle or walk the lane. There is no local bus to the cairns, so a car or bike decides your day. Bus 187 links Oldcastle with Kells, Virginia, Ballyjamesduff and Mount Nugent, four times Monday to Saturday, just under an hour end to end.
See and do
Known for
- Loughcrew Cairns passage tombs
- Slieve na Calliagh hills
- Loughcrew Estate gardens
- Saint Oliver Plunkett
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Kells | Bus 187 from the Square, about 50 min | About 1 h |
| Loughcrew Cairns | Drive or cycle 3 km (1.9 mi) east off the R163, then walk up Carnbane EastDrive or cycle 1.9 mi (3 km) east off the R163, then walk up Carnbane East | 30–45 min from town |
| Loughcrew Estate | Drive 4 km (2.5 mi) south-east, signpostedDrive 2.5 mi (4 km) south-east, signposted | About 20 min |
| Fore Abbey | Drive west across the Westmeath border, about 15 km (9.3 mi)Drive west across the Westmeath border, about 9.3 mi (15 km) | About 25 min |
| Virginia, County Cavan | Bus 187 north, about 20 min | About 30 min |
| Brú na Bóinne and Newgrange | Drive via Kells and the N2, about 45 km (28 mi)Drive via Kells and the N2, about 28 mi (45 km) | About 1 h |
Sleep
- The Square and streets off it
- Everything in town is within about 100 m of the Square: pubs, shop, buses.
- Millbrook Road
- 200 m south of the centre; B&B rooms and a quiet night.
- Loughcrew, 3 km east
- Camping, caravan pitches and glamping by the cairns; tent about €12 per person per night.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Dia dhuitjeea ghwitch |
| Thank you | Go raibh maith agatguh rev mah agut |
| Please | Le do thoilleh duh hull |
| Where is the bus stop? | Cá bhfuil an stad bus?kaw will an stad bus |
| How much is it? | Cé mhéad é?kay vade ay |
| Cheers | Sláinteslawn-cha |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake, first names quickly; avoid: Over-formality; it reads as coldness
- Conversation: Banter, weather and sport; self-deprecating humour; avoid: Opening with Northern Ireland, religion or the Famine
- Pubs: Buy your round; chat at the bar; avoid: Leaving a round without buying one
- Identity: Say Ireland, or the Republic when you need to distinguish; avoid: 'Southern Ireland' and calling it British
- Driving: Lift a finger from the wheel to thank drivers who pull in for you; avoid: Stopping on narrow bends for photos
Scams and watch-outs
- Bus 187 runs Monday to Saturday only, four times a day: check the return time before you set out.
- The cairn hills are steep, rocky and exposed: stout shoes, a windproof layer and no flip-flops.
- Cairn T has been closed for conservation at times: check before you climb for it.
- Mobile coverage is patchy: Three has 4G, Eir is uneven, Vodafone has little or none here.
- Loughcrew Estate house is an event venue and cannot normally be visited; the gardens can.
Very low crime; the real risks are the walk back from the cairns on an unlit lane, boggy ground underfoot and weather that turns on the hills. Tell someone your route if you go up alone.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Oldcastle yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Loughcrew Cairns passage tombs
- Slieve na Calliagh hills
- Loughcrew Estate gardens
- Saint Oliver Plunkett
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Loughcrew Megalithic Centre: www.loughcrewmegalithiccentre.com
- Transport for Ireland route mapper: www.transportforireland.ie/getting-around/by-bus/route-maps/
- Wikivoyage: Oldcastle, revision 5339655 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5339655
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
OldcastleAn Seanchaisleán
Chun an seoladh seo, le do thoil
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Oldcastle. US and most other embassies are in Dublin; the nearest Garda station is in Oldcastle town (check hours).
English is spoken everywhere; Irish is a courtesy, not a necessity.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/oldcastle). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.