Towns & Villages in County Tipperary

The ten places here spread right across the county, from the Shannon in the north to the Knockmealdown foothills in the south, so this is a list you drive rather than walk between. Ballina sits at the top of it, the Tipperary half of a twin town facing Killaloe across a 13-arch 18th-century bridge that still carries single-lane traffic, with Lough Derg watersports upstream and the Brian Boru Festival shared between the two towns each July.

The southern group clusters in the Galtee-Vee Valley. Ballyporeen is a planned estate village on the old Cork–Dublin coach road, laid out by the Earls of Kingston, and better known since 1984 as the village Ronald Reagan traced his roots to. Clogheen, under 500 people, is a few miles on and works as a trailhead for the Blackwater, East Munster and Tipperary Heritage Ways, with the road above it climbing to the Vee. That climb is the one to time for clear weather; in low cloud the viewpoint gives you nothing.

Further north and east, Fethard keeps about ninety per cent of its medieval town wall, more than anywhere else in Ireland, and it is compact enough to walk in an afternoon. Nenagh has the cylindrical Butler keep, free to climb, and a Saturday farmers’ market. Thurles fills around the hurling calendar, and Semple Stadium on a Munster final day is a different town entirely.

Where to start

  1. Ballina – Tipperary's side of the Shannon Ballina

    The Tipperary half of a twin town on the Shannon, joined to Killaloe by a 13-arch stone bridge that still carries traffic one lane at a time.

  2. Ballyporeen – Reagan's ancestral village Ballyporeen

    A planned Kingston estate village under the Galtees, on the old coach road, and the place Ronald Reagan stood in 1984 to claim his great-grandfather's parish.

  3. Clogheen – under the Knockmealdowns Clogheen

    A village of under 500 that carries three waymarked ways and sits at the foot of the road up to the Vee, the best viewpoint in the Knockmealdowns.

  4. Emly – St Ailbe's village Emly

    A village of 300 that was a premier Irish diocese for six centuries, with St Ailbe's leaning stone cross in the graveyard and his holy well nearby.

  5. Fethard – Medieval Walled Town Guide Fethard

    Roughly ninety per cent of its medieval town wall survives, more than any other Irish town, along with a 14th-century friary and a Sheela-na-gig.

10 of 10 shown — tap a pin for the place.

Ballina, Lough Derg, Co Tipperary
Ballina, Lough Derg, Co Tipperary Courtesy Discover Lough Derg

Ballina – Tipperary's side of the Shannon

Ballina, tipperary

Ballina is the Tipperary half of a twin town, facing Killaloe across the Shannon over an 18th-century 13-arch stone bridge that still carries single-lane traffic. A plaque on that bridge marks four young men shot by the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries during the War of Independence. Each July the two towns share the Brian Boru Festival and a cross-river hurling match, with Lough Derg watersports a short way upstream.

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Ballyporeen
Ballyporeen Seighean, transfered from enwiki by Lvova / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Ballyporeen – Reagan's ancestral village

Ballyporeen, tipperary

Ballyporeen is best known as the ancestral village of Ronald Reagan, who stood on its green in 1984 and traced his roots to a great-grandfather baptised in the local church. It sits in the Galtee-Vee Valley on the old Cork–Dublin coach road, a planned estate village laid out by the Earls of Kingston, with the Galtee Mountains at its back.

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Fethard Horse Country Experience, Museum, Co Tipperary
Fethard Horse Country Experience, Museum, Co Tipperary Courtesy Fethard Horse Country Experience

Fethard – Medieval Walled Town Guide

Fethard, tipperary

Fethard keeps more of its medieval town wall than anywhere else in Ireland – about ninety per cent of it, rising to 7.8 metres in the north. Add a 14th-century friary, a Sheela-na-gig set into the wall and a pub that doubles as an undertaker's, and a small Tipperary town earns an afternoon.

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Questions people ask

Which Tipperary town is best for a day out?
Fethard if you want to walk a medieval town, with about ninety per cent of its wall standing, a 14th-century friary and a Sheela-na-gig. Nenagh suits a half-day, with the Butler keep free to climb, the Saturday farmers' market and the old gaol heritage centre.
Which villages are close enough to combine in one trip?
Ballyporeen and Clogheen both sit in the Galtee-Vee Valley in the south of the county and pair naturally, with the Vee drive above Clogheen linking them to the Knockmealdowns. In the north, Nenagh, Ballinderry and Borrisoleigh are all within a short drive of one another.
Where should I base myself for the Galtee Mountains and the Glen of Aherlow?
Tipperary Town, a working market town on the River Ara in the Golden Vale. It is more useful as a base than as a destination, though the square of nationalist monuments is worth a stop, and it gave its name to the First World War marching song.
When is the best time to visit?
July brings the Brian Boru Festival and the cross-river hurling match shared by Ballina and Killaloe. Thurles runs on the hurling calendar, so Semple Stadium on a Munster final day is busy in a way it never is otherwise. The Vee road above Clogheen needs clear weather.
Are there places here worth stopping at rather than spending a day?
Ballinderry Bridge carries the R493 over the Ballyfinboy River on the North Tipperary Cycle Route, five limestone arches from around 1790, and the village beside it has a ruined mill with its wheel intact. Emly and Borrisoleigh are both short stops too.

← All things to do in County Tipperary

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