Is anyone else in the trying to free up more space around the house to accommodate the oncoming avalanche of toys due to hit shortly?
This year why not ask your family and friends to club together for an annual pass to one of your special places that the whole family will enjoy all year long or that you can visit more than one place over a year and go on many family outings…….. Here are some of my favourite family gift ideas!
Shannon Heritage manages some of the most popular visitor attractions in the country. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to visit these over and over and still save money? The Shannon Heritage Annual Membership Programme gives you this option.
To purchase an annual membership call +353 (0) 61 360788 or email reservations@shannonheritage.com or buy a ticket on our Online Booking System 
2. Family Heritage Cards
The Heritage Card provides for free admission to all fee-paying State managed OPW Heritage Sites located throughout the country for one year from the date of first use (with the exception of Muckross Traditional Farms, Killarney).
Having the card allows you to visit places like Bru-na-Boinne on separate days so you can explore Newgrange on one day and Knowth on another, ensuring the kids don’t burn out, and enabling everyone to take in more because of the slower pace. As young kids can sometimes hit the point of no-return without much warning, the card enables families to leave when they need to, without parents feeling that they have to stay longer as they’ve already paid for the tickets. Leave the site, do something different, feed the kids, and return later that day or the next for no extra cost.
The quickest and most convenient way to purchase an OPW Heritage Card is to buy it at the first OPW fee-paying site you visit (click on this link for a list of our fee paying Sites List of Fee Paying Sites .
3. Dublin Zoo
Dublin Zoo in the Phoenix Park is Ireland’s Number 1 Family Attraction s and one of the very best places for a family day out, combining fun with some learning about the world we live in. Kids of all ages will love the huge range of animals on view – from the City Farm to the African Plains. Allows free admission to Dublin Zoo for one year. Dublin Zoo annual pass holders are also admitted free to Fota Wildlife Park (Cork), as well as Chester Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo and Paignton Zoo in the UK!
4. Fota Wildlife Park
Fota Wildlife Park in Cork is a special zoo and Ireland’s premier wildlife attraction. In Fota Wildlife Park wherever possible they have chosen animals, which thrive in a free-range environment are allows to roam free, while mixed with other species and with us human visitors!
5. The Donkey Sanctuary
The Donkey Sanctuary is set in the beautiful rolling countryside of County Cork just outside the village of Liscarroll in Ireland.Over 5,200 donkeys from all parts of Ireland have been taken into our care here in Ireland since The Donkey Sanctuary in Ireland was set up. Many donkeys have been abandoned or put in a field and given little or no attention after having worked for their owners for years, hauling peat or pulling a cart. Great care is given to ensuring that each donkey has individual attention.
