Tipperary Ireland

This strong fort of Eliogarty, originally named Durlas Eile and Thurles in English situates across the river Suir. Just like in the case of Nenagh and Clonmel, this fort also was developed by the Norman butlers. Ruins of two of their stronghold towns survive to the day. These are the 15th century tower house guarding the bridge and, the one-time home of Lady Thurles, mother of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, which is seen at the other end of the square and hidden behind shops. Two churches, two convents, two seminaries, and a presbytery also exist in this fort. Archbishops of the diocese have spent their days here more rather than at Cashel town - the traditional office of the bishop - since 1723

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Cashel town, Clonmel, Eliogarty, English, Nenagh, Ormond, Suir, Thurles. Comments: 5

The name Cashel is a derivative of the term Caiseal Mumhan (the stone fort of Munster). Cashel Palace Hotel , a 17^th century mansion is there in the centre of this town. Guinness was first brewed here. Designed by Sir Edward Lovett Pearce, it was once home to the Protestant Archbishop. There are two Mulberry trees in its gardens dating back to Queen Mary. Quirkes castle (Kearneys castle) a former tower house and a hotel at present has fortified parapets and gargoyles (figures carved on its walls). The G.P.A. Bolton Library is situated in the grounds of the Church of Ireland. This library houses a rare collection of books and manuscripts. The building, once the Town Hall, is now the home of Cashel Heritage Centre including a museum.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Caiseal Mumhan, Cashel, Cashel Heritage Centre, Cashel Palace Hotel, G.P.A. Bolton Library, Guinness, Kearneys castle, Mulberry, Munster, Protestant Archbishop, Quirkes castle. Comments: 2

The Terryglass town has won the Tidy Towns award. It has a quay (a raised platform for loading to and unloading from ships) with all facilities. The rural church and the graveyard near by are things of attraction thanks to the headstones being of the same height and regular rows. This church was founded by Lucila Larios y Tashara Hickie of nearby Sleoyre, and endowed by later Hickies. This church houses a relic of the Cross on which Christ was crucified and also a beautiful set of stations of the Way of the Cross and plaques.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: church, headstones, Sleoyre, Terryglass, Tidy Towns. Comments: 1

The name Cahir is a derivative of the word Cathair Dun Iascaigh that means kingdom of the fishermen. This is a busy tourist centre today. Located on the river Suir, this town amassed the lions share of its wealth from the flour mills which flourished in the years gone. Cahir was the home town of the Earl of Glengall. And it is a matter of attraction that the houses of the Glengall had beautifully made barge boards on windows and gables. The Cahir Castle that is covered in the film Excalibur situates at the centre of Cahir town. This Castle was built in 1142 by Conor O’Brien, Prince of Thomond and restored later. It came under the Anglo-Norman Butlers in 1375. They sided with the Irish in the Elizabethan wars and in 1599 after a short siege in which the walls were breached, the Earl of Essex took it for the crown. The castle was surrendered to Lord Inchiquin in 1647 by George Mathews, the guardian of Lord Cahir. Further it was surrendered to Cromwell in 1650 and two years later the war ended with the signing of articles in the castle.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Cahir, Cahir Castle, Cahir town, Cathair Dun Iascaigh, Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Earl of Glengall, Elizabethan wars, Excalibur, Glengall, Suir, Thomond. Comments: None

The name Carrick-on-Suir derives from Carraig na Siuire meaning the Rock of the Suir. This is a picturesque town situated on the river Suir. Carrick castle (Tudor Manor), the only one of its kind in Ireland is an Elizabethan fortified mansion. It was one of the prime seats of the Butlers, Earls and Dukes of Ormonde. Tudor Manor was said to have been constructed by Black Tom Butler the 10th Earl to receive Queen Elizabeth I, his cousin. But the Queen never did visit it. There is a bridge built with seven arches in the mid 15th C. The town, with a clock of 1784, once had a flourishing woolen industry and was also noted for brewing and distilling. Of the three Catholic churches in the town, St. Nicholas’ is a romanesque building, the Franciscan church (1822) is gothic and Carrickbeg church which was not completed incorporates features of a 1336 friary and has a doorway with carved heads.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Carrick castle, Carrick-on-Suir, Carrickbeg, Catholic, church, Elizabethan, Franciscan, gothic, Ireland, Ormonde, Queen Elizabeth, river Suir, Romanesque, Suir, Tudor Manor. Comments: None

The meadow of honey is the meaning of Cluain Meala from which the name Clonmel derives. Today it is a flourishing town on the river Suir. This town, Surrounded by the Commeragh and Knockmealdown mountains, is a very good centre for climbing and exploring. It was walled and fortified in the 14th century and was home to the powerful Butler Anglo-Norman family. In 1516 it was captured by the Earl of Kildare and in 1650 attacked by Oliver Cromwell, who faced a tough resistance.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: 19 Main Street, Cahir, church, Clonmel, Cluain Meala, Commeragh, Franciscan, Ireland, Kildare, Knockmealdown, Suir, West Gate. Comments: None

Portroe is a village with a fascinating view of the countryside, a beautiful church built in cream gritstone. There lies a simple headstone in the churchyard commemorating a Tipperary hurler Tommy Kenny, and his son Sean (1930-1973). The former is the author of the landmark 1926 U.S.A. tour and the latter crossed the Atlantic with three others in an open Ketch. Ituna, studied with Frank Lloyd Wright at Arizona and became a celebrated designer for the London stage. The visitors will also be directed towards a German-owned tube factory originally built up by J.B. O’ Driscoll, who revitalised the slate quarries (1923) in which there were 400 men employed at a time in the late 1700s. With the end of this era in 1956, this enterprise that used to supply ‘Kilaloe’ slates to a vast number of public and private buildings in Ireland, Scotland and Holland came to an end. But from 1991 the same production resumed in this area.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Arizona, Atlantic, Holland, Ireland, Ketch, Kilaloe, London, Portroe, Scotland, Tipperary, U.S.A. Comments: None

One of Ireland’s oldest towns, Roscrea is the entry point to the Shannon Region and to the south-west of Ireland. Church Street, the site of St Cronan’s sixth century monastery, is rich with the twelfth century ruins of a Hiberno-romanesque gable, a round tower and a high cross, all reminding the once prominent diocese of Ros Cre. This monastic story is highlighted at nearby Sean Ross, the bog-island of Monaincha and the Franciscan Friary at Abbey Street. And this story is continued as a living tradition at the Cistercian Abbey of Mount Street Joseph, west of the town. A royal state-of-the-art castle was erected in the 13^th century to fortify this portion of Ely O’Carroll and its strategic situation on the Slighe dhala, one of the five great roads of ancient Ireland. The gate-tower, fortifying high walls and corner turrets (small decorative tower projecting from the wall of a building) along with its courtyard and gardens are currently restored by the State. It was in this courtyard the Damer House was built in the early eighteenth century, within which is the well attracted Queen Anne pine staircase is housed. Every visitor is supplied with free copy of the book, the Heritage Trail, with an accompanying booklet in three languages, to help him explore this historic town.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Abbey Street, Cistercian Abbey, Damer House, Franciscan Friary, Heritage Trail, Ireland, Monaincha, Mount Street, Ros Cre, Roscrea, Sean Ross, Shannon Region, Slighe dhala. Comments: None

This 70-acre town park (part of the former Carden demesne) are the remains of Templemore Abbey and Black Castle is situated on the plain beneath the Western slopes of the Devil’s Bit Mountain. There is a large lake and swimming pool in this park. The upper reaches of the River Suir near the town provides facility for brown trout fishing. The lake in the town park is a store of variety of fish like pike, roach, perch and tench. The North Tipperary Foxhounds are very common here. The once old British (later Irish) army barracks, now fully refurbished as a modern Garda training college is the place to train Ireland’s Gardai (police force).

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Town. Tags: Black Castle, Carden, Devil's Bit Mountain, Gardai, lake, North Tipperary Foxhounds, river Suir, Templemore, Templemore Abbey. Comments: None