Page 75 - The Drivers Guide 2019

The Driver's Guide
for other building use, but the carved stones were considered sacred and so were left on site. Nearby is St Berrihert’s Well, a holy well traditionally believed to heal scalds and burns.
CAHIR CASTLE
JN 10 (N24) TOWARDS CAHIR 6 min from exit
The main attraction of the market town of Cahir is undoubtedly Cahir Castle. It is one of the largest and best preserved medieval castles in Ireland. Situated on a rocky island in the middle of the River Suir, it represents the pinnacle of medieval skill, and contains one of the very few working portcullises (drop gates) on the island of Ireland. Owned by the Butler family from 1375 to 1961, the present structure dates largely to the 13th and 15th centuries. A National Monument, it has been open to the public since 1971.
CAHIR ABBEY
JN 10 (N24 AND R640) TOWARDS CAHIR
5 min from exit
The Priory of St Mary, known as ‘Cahir Abbey’, was a
house of Augustinian Canons Regular, founded in the
last decade of the 12th century. At the dissolution of the monasteries (1540), it was found to have been the parish church since time immemorial. It is located off Upper Abbey Street near the railway bridge over the river. The chancel survives, as well as several towers and outbuildings.
CLONMEL TOWN
JN 10 (N24) TOWARDS CLONMEL
18 min from exit
Clonmel is Tipperary’s most important market town and a pleasant place for a stroll. Like many towns in the region, it was besieged by Cromwell in 1650, but Clonmel put up fierce resistance.
The medieval West Gate leads to town’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street. Half way down is St Mary’s Church which is home to the oldest organ in Ireland, ornate stained-glass windows and remnants of original city walls. There is a Franciscan Abbey and 15th century tower on Abbey Street. Clonmel is also home to Tipperary County Museum, located on Mick Delahunty Square, which enables visitors to experience the cultural richness and pride of the county.
CORK
MITCHELSTOWN
JN 13 (R639)
7 min from exit
Mitchelstown is the gateway to Co Cork and an ideal access point to the south of Ireland. Its name originates from an Anglo-Norman family called ‘de St Michel’ who founded a settlement there in the 13th century known as ‘Villa Michel’. Mitchelstown is in the heart of the fertile Golden Vale and has long enjoyed the reputation as “The Home of Good Food” and offer a wonderful and diverse holiday experience. Mitchelstown is set against the majestic backdrop of the Ballyhoura Mountains to the west and Galtees to the north-west. Mitchelstown offers: beautiful walking trails, horse riding, fishing, mountain-biking and golf.
MITCHELSTOWN CAVES
FOLLOW M8 TO R639. TAKE EXIT 11 FROM M8 CONTINUE ON R639
Mitchelstown Cave is one of the largest and most complex cave systems in Ireland. On the guided tour you will follow ancient passageways and visit massive caverns in which you are surrounded by indescribable dripstone formations, stalactites, stalagmites and huge calcite pillars and one of Europe’s finest columns the inspiring “Tower of Babel” which stands some 9 meters in
height. Mitchelstown Cave is situated in County Tipperary over the border from Mitchelstown in County Cork and is a prime attraction on the Ancient East route.
LABBACALLEE WEDGE TOMB
JN 14 (R369 AND R512) TOWARDS FERMOY 9 min from exit
Labbacallee Wedge Tomb is the largest wedge tomb in Ireland. It stands in a wedge shaped stone cairn and is bounded by massive standing stones. The gallery is covered by three massive capstones, the largest weighs around ten tonnes and the tomb has three large buttress stones at the rear. Excavation in 1934 produced a number of exhumation burials, fragments of a late Stone Age decorated pot and a few fragments of bone and stone. This is a must see tomb if you are in the area.
IRELAND’S ANCIENT EAST 73