Ireland Guide
Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford
Duncannon
Duncannon ( 
www.visitduncannon.com ) is a small, friendly village with an expansive Blue Flag beach protected from the elements by a rocky coastline at its southern extremity. Looming above from its lofty promontory is Duncannon Fort (June– Sept daily 9.30am–5.30pm; Oct– May by appointment; €5 with a guided tour, €3 without; 
051/389454), constructed in 1586, on the site of a Celtic fort and a Norman castle, as a bulwark against Spanish invasion. Much remodelled since then, the fort remained in British hands until 1919 and was burnt down by the IRA in 1922. Though Ireland was officially neutral during World War II, the fort was rebuilt on its outbreak, becoming a base for the Irish Army until 1986. As well as an art gallery and an Internet café, the complex includes a small maritime museum, a dry moat with ten-metre-high walls and, in a surviving older building, a fetid dungeon (accessible only on the guided tour) where the Croppy Boy, the subject of a well-known song of the 1798 Rebellion, was allegedly incarcerated. Over on the beach, in mid-August there's the two-day International Sand-Sculpting Festival ( 051/389990), in which a host of competitors produce astonishing, but sadly temporary, artworks.
For accommodation try the comfortable, well-kept en-suite rooms at The Moorings ( & 
051/389242; March– Nov; Price: €60-90), by the fort. Nearby, overlooking the sea at the central crossroads, the Strand Tavern is a convivial local, serving good-value food all day and often has evening entertainment. On the opposite corner, Roche's features a cosy, old-fashioned front bar – home to traditional sessions on Fridays and bands or singer-songwriters on summer Saturdays – and larger spaces beyond, including a beer garden. Lunches here cover everything from sandwiches and salads to chowder, seafood and steaks, while 
Sqigl (evenings: summer Tues– Sat; winter Wed– Sat; 051/389188), the adjacent restaurant run by the same family and pronounced "squiggle", is a more sophisticated option, serving delicious local seafood and sublime desserts.