Built on the foundations of what was once the castle of pirate queen Grace O'Malley, Westport House makes for a great day out all-year round, but when it comes to the Easter holidays, there's more to see besides the beautiful art and 3,000 year old Greek sarcophagi. Bring the family along on Easter Sunday for their Easter Trail and race around the grounds to find clues and prizes, with chocolate eggs up for grabs. 

Hop aboard the Easter Express and explore the grounds of Oakfield Park in Donegal with a holiday twist. Family days running from March 29 to April 1 will each feature an Easter egg hunt, train ride, a Bunny Hop disco, games and more. Little ones will will get to meet their favourite characters along the way, and older kids can keep busy with the estate's hedge mazes, sculpture gardens and wildlife. You'll need to book your tickets in advance as the Easter Bunny tends to attract a lot of visitors.

The biggest adventure park in the country, Skypark has enough to keep kids entertained all Easter break. Choose from footgolf, aeroball, quaser, archery or the 30+ aerial activities on offer, with monkey bars, zip lines, giant swings and skateboards. Kids (who are at least 1.2m tall) can climb, jump and whizz through the sky up to 40 feet off the ground – but there's also a fun junior course for kids aged between 5 and 8.

This year, Fota Wildlife Park is their kicking off the Easter celebrations with fun events and opportunities to get up close with the animals through the Easter break. Stop by to feed the critter of your choice after March 16, or pick up a few facts about your favourite animals on a wildlife talk between March 23 to April 7. 

You might not find the actual Easter bunny in their midst, but the baby rabbits at the Clonfert Pet Farm are so cute it won’t even matter. Visit the farm for their Easter Festival and you’ll get to say hello to all the resident animals, from llamas and lemurs to meerkats and parrots. Running from March 23 to 31, the festival includes a fun fair, treasure hunt and kiddie disco as well as all the usual animals. There’s also a chocolate egg in store for all the kids who take part in the treasure hunt. 

This year, family-run Kildare Farm Foods has a jam-packed schedule for their Easter Family Adventure. Bring the kids to greet the Easter Bunny before hopping aboard the Farm Shop Express for a tour of the whole farm and its adorable residents. If you want to get a little bit closer to the farm animals, head to the Live Bunny Trail where you can pet the farm's fluffle of bunnies and try count as many as you can. And for the older kids who are too cool for the Easter Bunny, there's the Virtual River Rapids Rollercoaster which will transport them from Kildare town to far-off raging waters. 

The grounds of Belvedere House are great for kids, with hidden creatures in the fairy garden and extensive play areas for running around. But on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, the Outdoor Easter Trail will have even more to explore along the way, with goodies to win and a meet and greet with cute animals from the Mobile Pet Farm. Children under three can attend for free, though they must be booked in along with the rest of the family. 

Get the kids involved in the Easter Fun at Murtagh's Organic Farm on March 30 and 31. Not only can they make friends with the Easter Bunny, they can also say hello to the farm's resident goats, rabbits, donkeys and pigs before diving into the Easter colouring competition and the farm's first ever Easter egg hunt. Grab a coffee and a snack from the Farm Shop on-site and take the kids through the beautiful Fairy Garden. 

Whether your kids want to clamber over the towers in the Adventure Play Kingdom or have a bash at ziplining in the forest, they can find their adventure at Lough Key Forest Park. They also have activities that you can enjoy as a family, like the teamwork challenge of Boda Borg and the treetop canopy walk. The route takes you all the way through the forest and out to the Moylurg tower, where you have a great view of the lake and its islands. 

This Easter, the grounds of the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park will be transformed into an Easter Egg Trail from March 23 to April 7. Look for clues left by the park's mischievous bunnies in the Victorian Walled Gardens or put pencil to paper for the Easter colouring competition. If you don't win,  don't worry – everyone will walk away with a choccy prize to enjoy. 

With its extensive gardens and historic telescope, Birr Castle is worth a visit any time of year. From March 25 to 28, kids can don bunny ears and a lab coat at Silly Science Camps. With the help of STEM Communicator Seanie Morris, the little ones will enjoy the great outdoors on nature walks and design and launch their very own rockets. Keep the fun going by exploring other garden trails, or head to Ireland’s largest treehouse and the connected adventure playground. 

Celebrate the start of the new season with the Spring Festival at Slieve Aughty Riding Centre, where a huge variety of events and activities are on every day from March 23 to April 7. Once the kids have received their complimentary goodie bags upon arrival, take a family walk through the Enchanted Forest, explore the organic garden or meet the pot-bellied pig, Winnie. Kids over the age of five can take a ride on the horses or ponies and make a spring craft in one of the workshops. Or you can leave the craftiness to the experts and make the most of the festival’s face painters. 

Kick off the Easter holidays at Brigit's Garden, which explores Celtic folklore and indigenous Irish plants through their seasonal gardens. On Easter Sunday and Monday, the Easter Egg Hunt will be broken out into two separate events for different age groups: the Mini Hunt for younger children, and the Mighty Hunt for older kids. Of course, the Easter Bunny will also be there to say hello and there will be also be face painting, arts and crafts and games galore to enjoy.

With its water features, giant chess set and grass maze, Easter at Vandeleur Walled Gardens and Visitor Centre in Clare feels like a scene straight out of Alice in Wonderland. From March 23 to April 1, get the kids involved in all the fun Easter activities set on the impressive 19th century property, from the Easter Trail and egg and spoon race to photos with the Easter Bunny himself. 

Rathwood Home and Garden World hosts lots of family-friendly activities under their very own Big Top, so it's no surprise that they're pulling out all the stops by putting on an Easter Panto from March 23 to April 1. Follow Fiona the Fairytale Fairy and Thomas Toffee as they try to rescue Hop the Bunny from the evil Sirius Chocolayte. Afterwards, join in the fun of the annual Easter egg hunt and give the Easter Bunny a hug. 

If your little ones are not fans of the panto, take a ride on the Rathwood Express through the surrounding forests, keeping an eye out for little surprises along the way. 

On March 30, the West Lawn of Malahide Castle and Gardens will host an Easter Family Fun Day with face painting, games, arts and crafts and more for little ones and kids up to 10. There will be food trucks on site to feed the whole family.

After the carnival on the lawn, bring the kids on the Fairy Trail and keep an eye out for the fairies' tiny homes nestled in the trees. Or spend time in the Butterfly House which is home to over 20 species of butterflies. You also let the kids run themselves ragged on the playground while you relax on one of the benches close-by. 

If you want to keep the fun going past Easter Sunday, head to Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark from April 2 to 3 for their Easter Scavenger Hunt. Bring the whole family along on the self-led trail and find clues amongst the area's 650 million years of history – there's a prize in store at the end of the trail.