Page 201 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Ireland

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o Cashel
Road map C5. Co Tipperary.
* 11,400. @ n Heritage Centre,
Town Hall, Main St (062 62511).
∑ cashel.ie
The great attraction of the town
is the magnificent medieval
Rock of Cashel (see pp200–201).
A private path leads to the rock
from Cashel Palace Hotel (see
p299), an opulent Queen
Anne residence that was
Façade of Cashel Palace Hotel once the Bishop’s Palace.
Nearby, the remnant of a
stone foundations. The i Holy Cross Abbey 12th-century castle has been
interpretive centre, housed in Road map C5. Thurles, Co Tipperary. turned into Kearney Castle
mock Stone Age huts on the site Tel 0504 43124. £ @ to Thurles. Hotel. In the evening you can
of the original settlement, offers Open 9am–8pm daily. sample traditional Irish culture
a range of audiovisual displays, & 8 7 ∑ tipperary.com at the Brú Ború Cultural Centre.
models of stone circles, burial Named after Brian Ború,
chambers and tools and weapons. Founded in 1169 by the the 10th-century king of
As well as the various pre- Benedictines, Holy Cross Munster (see pp38–9), the
historic sites scattered all over was supposedly centre offers
the Knockadoon Peninsula, endowed with folk theatre,
there are two castle ruins from a splinter traditional
more recent times beside from the True music, banquets,
the lough – the 15th-century Cross, hence its name. and a craft shop. At the
Bourchier’s Castle and Black Now it has been re stored, foot of the Rock is the
Castle, a 13th-century seat of and the church is 13th-century Dominican
the Earls of Desmond. once again a popular Friary. This austere sand-
place of worship and stone church has a fine
pilgrimage. Most of west door, a 15th-century
u Roscrea the present structure tower and lancet windows.
dates from the 15th On farmland outside
Road map C4. Co Tipperary. * 4,600.
£ @ n Heritage Centre, Castle St century. It was built by Cashel lie the scant
(0505 21850). Open Easter–Sep: daily. the Cistercians, who Crucifixion carving remains of Hore
∑ heritageireland.ie took over the abbey at Holy Cross Abbey Abbey, a 13th-century
in 1180. This gracious Cistercian foundation.
This monastic town on the cruciform church, embellished The abbey was remodelled and
banks of the River Bunnow has with mullioned win dows a tower added in the 15th
an interesting historic centre. and sculpted pillars, is one century, but the barrel-vaulted
The 13th-century Anglo- of the finest examples of late sacristy, the nave and chapter
Norman Roscrea Castle consists Gothic architecture in Ireland. house are all original.
of a gate tower, curtain walls Nearby, Farney Castle is
and two corner towers. In the the only round tower in F Brú Ború Cultural Centre
courtyard stands Damer House, Ireland that is occupied as Cashel. Tel 062 61122. Open mid-Jun–
a Queen Anne-style residence a family home. It was built Aug: Tue–Sat; Sep–mid-Jun: Mon–Fri.
with a magni ficent staircase and in 1495 and is currently the Closed 24 Dec–2 Jan. 7 =
Georgian garden. Just over the design studio and retail outlet ∑ bruboru.ie
river lies St Cronan’s Monastery, of Irish international designer R Dominican Friary
with a High Cross, Romanesque Cyril Cullen. Dominic Street. 7 limited.
church gable and a truncated
round tower. There are remains
of a 15th-century Franciscan
Friary on Abbey Street and the
renovated Blackmills now
houses the St Cronan’s High
Cross and the Roscrea Pillar.
+ Roscrea Castle & Gardens
Castle Street. Tel 0505 21850. Open
Mar–Sep: 10am–6pm daily. & 7
limited. 8 ∑ heritageireland.com Ruins of Hore Abbey (1272) with the Rock of Cashel in the background

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