The Island of Ireland has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites as well as an abundance of historical landmarks from castles, medieval abbeys, ancient monuments, and stone forts. There is a strong interest in heritage tourism with millions of tourists visiting sites to name but a few including Blarney Castle, Céide Fields, Clonmacnoise, Giant's Causeway, Glendalough, Trinity College Dublin and Newgrange heritage site.

Heritage Ireland OPW is responsible for the care of over seven hundred historical sites in Ireland as well as important art collections and artefacts. Historical sites are protected by legislation with specialist skills required to maintain and conserve our built heritage and collections.

History isn't just about historical sites. The sector offers a diverse range of career opportunities such as archaeology, excavating ancient ruins, identifying, dating and documenting artefacts. A career in record keeping, archives or archive conservation may be of interest and could involve liaising with Film and TV crews carrying out historical research. You may be interested in pursuing a career in education or academic research, increasing our knowledge for the benefit of society. You may prefer to work in the tourism sector, at an interpretive centre or as a tour guide, bringing history to life by passing on your passion to tourists and the next generation.

The transferable skills gained from studying history such as research, critical thinking, data analysis and teamwork are highly valued by employers. History graduates are versatile and can be found in many fields such as the arts, civil service, law, politics, media and business.