Four of the places below sit in Cashel, within walking distance of each other. The Rock of Cashel carries a round tower, a roofless Gothic cathedral and Cormac’s Chapel, whose 12th-century frescoes are seen only on a timed guided tour. Ten minutes downhill, Hore Abbey stands in open pasture, free and rarely busy, while St Dominic’s Abbey and Brú Ború sit a few steps from the Rock itself.
The rest follow the Suir. Athassel Priory, near Golden, is the largest monastic ruin on the island and is reached across a field and over a medieval bridge, with no gate or ticket. Kilsheelan Bridge, a triple-arch humpback crossing of about 1820, sits on the flat Suir Blueway between Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir. The Swiss Cottage outside Cahir is a Regency cottage orné, its interior open by guided tour only, ten people at a time.
Further north, Hayes’ Hotel on Liberty Square in Thurles, where the GAA was founded in 1884, is still a working hotel ten minutes’ walk from the railway station, and Roscrea’s round tower, castle and high cross all stand in its old core. Knockgraffon Motte, Moor Abbey at Galbally and Barnane under the Devil’s Bit need a car and are open ground, so the field approaches soften after rain and short winter afternoons cut a tour of them fine.
A walled precinct above the Golden Vale holding a round tower, a roofless cathedral and Cormac's Chapel, with Ireland's only surviving Romanesque wall paintings.
The last Cistercian house founded in medieval Ireland, roofless in a working pasture ten minutes' walk from the Rock, free to wander and rarely busy.
An ornamental thatched retreat of around 1810 whose hand-painted Parisian wallpaper and balconied rooms are seen only on a guided tour of ten people.
The Thurles billiards room where the GAA was founded in 1884, still a working hotel ten minutes' walk from the railway station.
A triple-arch humpback bridge of about 1820 over the Suir, free to cross and set on the flat, traffic-free Suir Blueway.
22 of 23 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Cashel, tipperary
The Rock of Cashel packs a round tower, a roofless Gothic cathedral, carved high crosses and a Romanesque chapel into one walled precinct above the Golden Vale. The one thing to prioritise is Cormac’s Chapel, whose mid-12th-century frescoes are the only surviving Romanesque wall paintings in Ireland – seen only on a timed guided tour.
Cashel, tipperary
Hore Abbey was the last Cistercian monastery founded in medieval Ireland. Its roofless Gothic walls and unusual north-side cloister sit in a working pasture a ten-minute walk from the Rock of Cashel, free to wander and rarely busy.
Kilcommon, tipperary
The Swiss Cottage near Cahir is a cottage orné of around 1810, an ornamental thatched retreat built for the Earl of Glengall, its design attributed to the Regency architect John Nash. The draw is the interior, seen only on a guided tour: original hand-painted Parisian wallpaper from the Dufour factory, a spiral staircase and balconied rooms. Tours take just ten people, no indoor photography is allowed, and the small car park fills fast, so come early or walk the 1.9km riverside path from Cahir Castle.
Thurles, tipperary
In the billiards room of Hayes' Hotel on Liberty Square, Thurles, the GAA was founded on 1 November 1884. It is still a working three-star hotel today, with Cusack's Bar, guest rooms and two ground-floor nightclubs, a ten-minute walk from Thurles railway station.
Kilsheelan, tipperary
A triple-arch humpback bridge of about 1820 carries the road over the River Suir beneath the peak of Slievenamon. It sits on the 21 km Suir Blueway between Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir – flat, traffic-free and free to cross. Mind the R706 level crossing just north, still worked by hand from its old railway signal cabin.
Knockgraffon, tipperary
Knockgraffon Motte is a steep Norman earthwork raised in 1192, in a raid against the King of Munster, and never dug into since. Climb the north side for a full turn of the Suir valley; at the base sit a medieval church and a 16th-century Butler tower house, on a hill tradition calls a royal inauguration site.
Moor Abbey, tipperary
Moor Abbey is a roofless Franciscan friary on the edge of Galbally, its three-storey bell-tower still standing between nave and chancel. Founded in the 1200s and rebuilt in 1471, it was burned in two rebellions, emptied and reoccupied again and again, and survived an attempt to blow it up in 1921. A short level path from the car park brings you straight into it.
Roscrea, tipperary
Roscrea, a market town in north Tipperary and one of the oldest in Ireland, is built around its monastic and medieval core. The 12th-century St Cronan's High Cross now stands indoors at the restored Black Mill to save it from the weather, a short walk from a round tower, a Romanesque church front and a 13th-century castle.
Cashel, tipperary
A short walk from the Rock of Cashel lie two free medieval ruins most visitors skip. St Dominic’s Abbey is a 13th-century Dominican friary with a tall crossing tower and fine Gothic detail; Hore Abbey stands out in open pasture with the Rock rising behind it.
Golden, tipperary
Southern slope of Devil's Bit mountain, tipperary
Cashel, tipperary
Derrinsallow, tipperary
Holycross, tipperary
Near Clonmel, tipperary
Clonmel, tipperary
Kilmoyler, tipperary
Lisvarrinane, tipperary
Clonmel, tipperary
Shronell, tipperary
Thurles, tipperary
Glen of Aherlow, tipperary
Toureen, tipperary
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