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.
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.
Golden, tipperary
At roughly 1.6 ha, Athassel is the biggest monastic complex on the island, founded around 1200 and burned more than once before the Dissolution finished it off. You reach it across a field and over a medieval stone bridge, and there is no gate, ticket or guide – just the gatehouse, cloister walls and scattered tomb effigies above the Suir.
Southern slope of Devil's Bit mountain, tipperary
Barnane is a quiet townland on the southern slope of the Devil's Bit, where the Carden family's 19th-century estate has crumbled to a walled garden and a battlemented folly. There's little to it on its own – the real reason to come is the Devil's Bit walk on the hill above.
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.
Holycross, tipperary
Holy Cross Abbey in County Tipperary is a rare thing – a fully restored medieval Cistercian abbey that's still a working parish church. It holds a relic of the True Cross, Ireland's only intact medieval chapter-house doorway, and 'Michael', reputed to be the oldest church bell in the country. Entry is free.
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.
Lisvarrinane, tipperary
Lisvarrinane is a small Glen of Aherlow village where three waymarked loops start beside the church. The pick is the red Dolmen Loop, a 9.8 km climb onto Slievenamuck that passes the Shrough portal tomb; the green and blue loops stay lower and shorter. All are free, and dogs are welcome on a lead.
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.
Thurles, tipperary
Semple Stadium in Thurles is Ireland's second-largest GAA ground, with a capacity of 45,690 and 24,000 seats. It has hosted Munster senior hurling finals since the early 20th century and drew up to 150,000 people to the Féile festivals of the early 1990s. Locals call it the Cathedral of Hurling, and the terraces are where that name is earned.
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.
Toureen, tipperary
Getting to St Pecaun's means parking at a level crossing and walking over a working railway line into a farmyard, then following the track to a stone-lined well in the corner of a field. Around it sit the ruins of a Romanesque church, a beehive cell and early cross-slabs, in a quiet corner of the Glen of Aherlow. The pattern day falls on 1 August.
Cashel, tipperary
Derrinsallow, tipperary
Near Clonmel, tipperary
Clonmel, tipperary
Kilmoyler, tipperary
Clonmel, tipperary
Shronell, tipperary
Glen of Aherlow, tipperary
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