Mayo national park is the least Instagrammable in Ireland

Mayo's only national park is lagging behind its counterparts on social media with the Wild Nephin National Park one of the least Instagrammable national parks in Ireland.

New analysis by outdoor specialist store Trailblazers has revealed Ireland's most instagrammable national park with the Wild Nephin National Park in Ballycroy coming bottom of the list of the country's six land-based national parks.

An analysis of Instagram hashtag data found that Killarney has generated more than 132,000 tagged posts, far surpassing every other national park in the country. In contrast, the Wild Nephin National Park received just over 1,000 tagged posts and was at the bottom of the list with only the marine national park in Kerry receiving less.

The Killarney National Park was way ahead of the Connemara National Park which had the second highest number of tagged posts with 33,600 while the Glenveagh National Park in Donegal was next with 16,300 ahead of the Wicklow Mountains with 15,800.

The Burren National Park in County Clare which has 14,00 tagged posts was also the most searched for national park on Google between January 1, 2020, and January 1, 2026. Wicklow Mountains National Park has the highest Visitor Pressure of all parks, while Wild Nephin National Park has the least.

READ: Mayo actor appears in new Game of Thrones series airing tonight

Rebecca Ryan, Marketing Manager at Trailblazers said that while Wild Nephin’s wilderness and dark skies are spectacular but far less shared online but Killarney's dominance is driven by its instantly recognisable scenery

“Killarney National Park has everything people want to capture in a single shot. Lakes, waterfalls, woodland, mountains and historic landmarks, all within easy reach of one another. It’s visually dramatic in every season, whether it’s mist over the lakes or autumn colour in the forests, making it incredibly shareable on Instagram,” explained Ms Ryan.

While Killarney leads online, Wicklow Mountains National Park continues to experience the highest visitor pressure on the ground, driven by proximity to Dublin and concentrated footfall. Smaller parks such as the Burren and Connemara also experience high pressure relative to their size, while Wild Nephin and Glenveagh remain comparatively uncrowded.