Ireland dark sky parks
List of darkest parks and places in Ireland for stargazing, astrophotography, astrotourism, star parties, and astronomy club events. Often these are national and regional parks and forests that are either remote or "protected" against light pollution.
Also ask your local UK astronomy club for guidance as they will know the darkest places.
Dark Sky Park | Location | Antrim Coast | Ballycroy | County Mayo | Connemara | County Galway | County Clare | County Clare | County Offaly | County Offlay | Davagh Forest | Kerry Dark Sky Reserve | Lough Gur | County Limerick | Mayo Park | County Mayo | Rathbeggan Lakes | County Meath | Sheep's Head Way | County Cork | Wicklow Mountains National Park | County Dublin |
UK light pollution maps w/ Bortle
2023 nighttime satellite image of the UK (showing Ireland) from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center.
![UK nighttime satellite map](images/darksky/global/uk-nighttime-satellite-map.jpg)
2015 light pollution map of the UK showing sky brightness at the zenith from World Atlas data. Colors correspond approximately to the Bortle scale, with pink being the brightest (most light-polluted) and dark gray being the darkest skies. Use as a guide to find the darkest sky locations near you.
![UK night sky light pollution map](images/darksky/global/uk-night-sky-brightness-light-pollution-map-bortle.jpg)