Historic Site sights in County Waterford
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Lismore Castle
From the Cappoquin road there are stunning glimpses of the riverside 'castle', which has lots of windows that would undercut any efforts at defence. While you can't get inside the four impressive walls of the main, crenulated building (unless you're looking to rent it for a group event), you can visit the 3 hectares of ornate and manicured gardens. Thought to be the oldest in Ireland, they are divided into the walled Jacobean upper garden and less formal lower garden. There are brilliant herbaceous borders, magnolias and camellias, and a splendid yew walk where Edmund Spenser is said to have written The Faerie Queen. There are contemporary sculptures in the gardens and a…
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St Declan's Church
In a striking position on a hill above town, the ruins of St Declan's Church stand on the site of St Declan's original monastery alongside an impressive cone-roofed, 29m-high, 12th-century round tower, one of the best examples of these structures in Ireland.
On the outer western gable wall of the 13th-century church, weathered 9th- century carvings set in unusual arched panels show the Archangel Michael weighing souls, the adoration of the Magi, Adam and Eve, and a clear depiction of the judgement of Solomon. Inside the church are two Ogham stones featuring the earliest form of writing in Ireland, one with the longest such inscription in the country. Local lore claims St…
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St Declan's Well
Pilgrims once washed in these waters, which are located in front of the ruins of Dysert Church, behind the hotel development above Ardmore Pottery.
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