‘You won’t find the magic of Ireland in Dublin.’
So says Anna Duke, Traitors star and keen TikToking tour guide of her home country of Ireland.
The 29-year-old has posted several videos about Ireland’s hidden gems and here reveals even more, kicking off with the reasons why tourists should give the capital a miss if they want to experience the Emerald Isle at its most magical.
She says: ‘Dublin is a really cool city – I even lived there for a decade – but it’s where the most overrated spot in Ireland is: Temple Bar.
‘I think, aesthetically, it looks like it’s old Ireland – you get traditional music and there’s a really good atmosphere. But it’s not really authentic and, oh my god, the pints there are so expensive!
‘It’s where every tourist wants to go and I get it – I want to go to touristy things when I’m on holiday too – but I can guarantee you, there’s not one Irish person drinking there.’
Instead, Anna recommends hiring a car (‘one of the hindrances of Ireland is we don’t have a public transport’) and heading to the west of the country, where ‘the magic of Ireland lies’.
‘We have some of the most amazing scenery in the world, and some really ancient history,’ she adds. ‘But nearly all of it can be found along the west coast.
Anna Duke, Irish star of BBC’s The Traitors, has revealed her top tips for exploring her country. Here, she’s pictured in Sligo – her favourite part of Ireland
‘You won’t find the magic of Ireland in Dublin,’ declares Anna, who remarks that the city’s Temple Bar area (above) is the most overrated spot in the country
Pictured: Anna on the west coast in Sligo, which she says has ‘some of the most amazing scenery in the world, and some really ancient history’
Anna in a promo picture for this year’s series of The Traitors
‘It has the best sunsets, the best cliffs, the best sea. I am just so proud of it.’
Anna’s favourite part of Ireland is Sligo – a three-hour drive from her hometown of Wicklow, which is just south of Dublin on the east coast.
She adds: ‘I always say that when I’m in Sligo, I feel like I never worry about anything. I could be going through the most stressful thing in my life, up at home, and then I go to Sligo and it doesn’t exist.
‘I love it because it’s absolutely stunning and it feels so old Ireland there. When you go into a pub, everyone will turn and be like, “Who are you?” And they’ll all want to chat to you.
‘When you drive around, it feels like you should just turn on the Riverdance soundtrack, because you’re driving through the most magical place in the world, with all these stone walls, and just magical little spots.
‘There’s loads to do in Sligo, too, because it’s on the sea, so you’ve got all the sea sports, like paddling, kayaking and canoeing, and then you just get sunsets that are absolutely out of this world.’
!['I could be going through the most stressful thing in my life, up at home, and then I go to Sligo [pictured] and it doesn't exist,' says Anna](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/07/94338365-14312279-_I_could_be_going_through_the_most_stressful_thing_in_my_life_up-a-10_1737705289025.jpg)
‘I could be going through the most stressful thing in my life, up at home, and then I go to Sligo [pictured] and it doesn’t exist,’ says Anna
Anna is originally from Wicklow, just south of Dublin on the east coast. The area has waterfalls (left) and forests sprinkled with fairy doors (right)
Pictured: Anna’s partner standing outside a sweater shop in Sligo
If you head further south down the coast, to County Clare, Anna says you’ll find Ireland’s most beautiful natural scenery – including the Cliffs of Moher, where a scene from Harry Potter was filmed.
She says: ‘They’re these absolutely magnificent cliffs, and they make you feel so small. It feels like you’re on the absolute edge of the world when you’re standing on them.’
Anna also mentions The Burren, which can also be found in County Clare.
‘It’s this weird area in Ireland that has its own flower, and it’s got all this limescale, and it also has some ancient burial sites,’ she reveals. ‘I just love the pagan history of Ireland. So that’s really, really cool.’
Although Anna loves the west of Ireland, she believes the most underrated place in the country is a Unesco World Heritage Site in the east.
‘I am obsessed with Newgrange,’ she says. ‘I think it should be one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It’s famous in Ireland, but it should be globally famous!’
Anna says you’ll find Ireland’s most beautiful natural scenery in County Clare – including the ‘magnificent’ Cliffs of Moher (pictured). She says: ‘They make you feel so small. It feels like you’re on the absolute edge of the world when you’re standing on them’
Anna believes Newgrange (pictured), a Unesco World Heritage Site in the east, ‘should be one of the Seven Wonders of the World’
LEFT: Newgrange is an ancient temple surrounded by stones that was built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. RIGHT: Anna believes the best time to visit this monument is on the winter or summer solstice, as the sun is setting. She explains: ‘It’s so amazing. There’s this tiny door you can walk through into the monument, and the light from the sun bounces off each wall and lights up the full chamber’
Anna loves The Burren, in County Clare (pictured). ‘It’s this weird area in Ireland that has its own flower, and it’s got all this limescale, and it also has some ancient burial sites,’ she reveals
Situated in County Meath, overlooking the River Boyne, Newgrange is an ancient temple built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids.
Anna believes the best time to visit this monument is on the winter or summer solstice, as the sun is setting.
She explains: ‘It’s so amazing. There’s this tiny door you can walk through into the monument, and the light from the sun bounces off each wall and lights up the full chamber.
‘It’s also got these 12 stones around it and, each month, the sun changes to shine on a different stone, so it’s one of the oldest calendars in the world.
‘This is ancient, ancient, pre-pyramids Ireland, so the maps they would have had to do to figure out where exactly to place each stone to track a beam of sunlight… I don’t know how they did it. We were smart!’
Another place Anna recommends as a ‘really good spot’ to visit is Dingle, on the southwest coast, partly because it ‘always feels really Christmassy’.
Anna recommends heading to Dingle (pictured), on the southwest coast, partly because it ‘always feels really Christmassy’
Dingle’s coast is a draw (pictured). ‘I think people just go a bit mad from the salt, but in the best way, where they just are the best craic,’ she says
She continues: ‘There’s loads of really small pubs and restaurants you can wander in and out of, but again, somehow, it’s an area that’s still untouched. For example, one of the pubs is heated by an Aga [an old oven] sat in the middle of the room.
‘It’s also a surf town, which is really cool. Anywhere that’s by the sea, I think people just go a bit mad from the salt, but in the best way, where they just are the best craic, and they’re just always up for everything.’
While Ireland is notoriously expensive – especially Dublin – Anna says you don’t need to spend a cent to see the country’s ‘rich history’, thanks to free walking tours, ‘really cool churches,’ as well as free museum entry.
And when it comes to accommodation, Anna recommends staying in an Airbnb, which ‘has some really good options in Ireland’, or heading to Groupon to get a deal on a hotel stay.
She adds: ‘Hotels in Ireland can be a little bit expensive, so it’s a cheaper way around.’
