Cashel Things to Do

The Rock of Cashel really is an amazing site. It sits right outside the center of Cashel on a large mound of limestone. Large stone walls encircle a complete round tower, a roofless abbey, a 12th century Romanesque chapel, and numerous other buildings and high crosses. It is composed of four structures which are the Hall of the Vicars Choral, the cathedral, the round tower, and Cormac's Chapel. Hore Abbey (also worth visiting) is about one kilometer north at the base of the rock.

At the beginning of the hill going up to the Rock, turn left and you will find a lovely little path that will lead you into the countryside surrounding the village and the rock. It is a lovely and easy walk to do to just get the blood flowing again if you have had a long journey.

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Around the outside of the buildings on the Rock, there is a graveyard with a number of Celtic crosses which are crosses with a ring surrounding the intersection.

According to our guide, there are only a few more people that will be allowed to be buried here, you had to sign up by 1930

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"This Market Cross has been erected by the citizens of Cashel and a few other friends to perpetuate the silver episcopal jubilee of his Grace the Most Reverand Thomas W Crowe DD Archbishop of Cashel and Emly. July 1895". This is the legend engraved on the pedestal of this magnificent example of an Irish Celtic Cross.

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Holycross Abbey is a Cistercian monastery located in the small village of Holycross between Cashel and Thurles. The village and abbey are built on the banks of River Suir.
The name of the abbey and village derive from the abbey's possession of a relic of the True Cross. The relic was first brought to Ireland by Queen Isabella of Angouleme, in 1233. After this the abbey was renamed Holy Cross Abbey.
After the Cromwellian war, Holy Cross Abbey fell into ruins and wasn't used as a place of worship for the next two centuries. However, in 1969, the Dail passed a motion allowing Holy Cross Abbey to be restored and the Abbey has been a a public place of worship since then.
The relic of the Cross is located to the left of the altar.

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The Vee is a twisting mountain route leading from Clogheen, Co. Tipperary through the Knockmealdown Mountains into Co. Waterford. The area offers stunning views over the Plains of Tipperary and beyond especially on a clear day.
Hikers and Hill walkers flock to the area to enjoy the undless miles of unspoilt nature through woodland and mountain trails.
The focal point of the Vee is probably Bay Lough. This is a small corrie lake surrounded by steep rocky hills. The gloomy depths of the lake are reputed to hold the half mythical, half real 'Petticoat Loose', a woman of loose morals who was banished to this spot after casting her spell over many a man.

You will also pass an old roadside stone hut just after the lake known as the Bianconi Hut. This hut was originally a stagepost on a nationwide transport system developed by Carlo Bianconi (1786-1875), an Italian emmigrant.

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Cashel, like a lot of other Irish towns, had a wall surrounding it to protect the population from attack.
The medieval walls of Cashel were built under the Charter of Murnage from Edward II between the years 1319-1324 and enclosed an area just over 28 acres.
In time they came to mark the boundries of the town and so helped in the levying of tolls and fees on traders. Canopy gates controlled access from the North-East. At the other end of the Main Street was Lower Gate, while Moor Gate stood near the Dominican Friary and John's Gate and Friar's Gate guarded the southern approaches. (The names of these gates still echo in the present street names - Lower Gate, John's Street, Moor Lane, and Friar's Street.
Considerable parts of the wall remain, the most important being those behind the Hospital, along the south and east borders of the Cathedral on John's Street and behind the Court House.

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St John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church was built on the site of the former Franciscan Friary and dates from 1795.
In 1932 mosaics were added to the facade to comemorate the Eucharistic Congress.
The facade and interior of the church have some unusual characteristics. The facade with it's colourful mosaic is very striking. The interior of the church contains sculptures along both sides of the main ailse, sponsored by local families in remberance of deceased family members. Another unusual feature of the church, are the two public galleries. These galleries are supported by columns and stretch the lenght of the church on both sides of the Main aisle, with side aisles on the ground floor, underneath the galleries.
The church celebrated it's bi-centenary in 1995 and a mojor restoration project was undertaken to revive the interior of the church.
The church yard contains a grotto to the Virgin Mary.