St Oliver Plunkett

The cathedral sits bang in the centre of Newry, impossible to miss with its twin spires rising above the surrounding streets. St Oliver Plunkett is a proper Victorian Gothic church, built in the 1820s and dedicated to one of Ireland's patron saints - a Catholic archbishop executed back in 1681. The interior is all soaring arches and stained glass, the kind of place that makes you crane your neck upwards without meaning to.

You're looking at a working parish church rather than a museum piece, which means it genuinely lives and breathes. The architecture alone justifies a quick visit if you're passing through Newry, particularly if you've got even a passing interest in 19th-century religious buildings. It's free to pop in, and most days you'll find the doors open during daylight hours, though it's worth checking locally if you're making a special trip.

The setting works well if you're based at somewhere like Hilltop Hideaway just down the road - a three-mile drive gets you to this secluded pod with hot tub if you want proper countryside quiet. Newry itself has enough going on for a half-day wander, and the cathedral forms a natural focal point for exploring the town centre on foot. Don't expect to spend more than 20 minutes inside unless you're genuinely into ecclesiastical architecture, but it's the sort of unexpected find that makes a regular town centre wander more interesting.