Historic Site sights in Ireland
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A
Newtown
About 1.5km east of town on Lackanash Rd, Newtown Cemetery contains an interesting group of ruins. The former Parish Church of Newtown Clonbun contains the late 16th-century tomb of Sir Luke Dillon, Chief Baron of the Exchequer during the reign of Elizabeth I, and his wife Lady Jane Bathe. The effigies are known locally as the Jealous Man and Woman, perhaps because of the sword lying between them. Rainwater that collects between the two figures is claimed to cure warts. Apparently you place a pin in the puddle and then jab the wart; when the pin becomes covered in rust, warts will vanish. Some say you should leave a pin on the statue as payment for the cure.
The other…
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Other Medieval Sights
Fethard's main concentration of medieval remains (some of which have been incorporated into later buildings) are just south of the church at the end of Watergate St. Beside Castle Inn are the ruins of several fortified 17th-century tower houses. Just under the archway to the river bank and Watergate Bridge is a fine sheila-na-gig (a sexually explicit medieval depiction of a woman) embedded in the wall to your left. You can stroll along the river bank, provided the resident geese are feeling friendly. From here, the backs of the Abbey St houses, although much added to and knocked about in places, once again display the pleasing irregularities of typical medieval building…
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Other Sights
Near the tourist office is Taafe's Castle, an imposing 16th-century tower house that stood on the waterfront until the land in front was reclaimed to build a short-lived train line. Today it's the storeroom of the attached pub; the best views are from the pub's courtyard.
Carlingford is the birthplace of Thomas D'Arcy McGee (1825–68), one of Canada's founding fathers. A bust commemorating him stands opposite Taafe's Castle.
The Mint, near the square, is of a similar age and has some interesting Celtic-inspired carvings around the windows. Although Edward IV is thought to have granted a charter to a mint in 1467, no coins were produced here. Near the Mint is the Tholsel…
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Other Sights
In Church Sq, the hefty obelisk the Dawson Monument (1857) commemorates Colonel Dawson's unfortunate demise in the Crimean War. Overlooking it is the Gothic St Patrick's Church and a stately Doric courthouse (1829). Heading west you'll find the Rossmore Memorial (c 1875), an over-the-top Victorian drinking fountain that dominates the Diamond. The town also has a number of buildings with gently rounded corners, an unusual architectural feature in Ireland.
Just out of the centre of town on the Dublin road is another piece of Victorian whimsy, the mock-14th-century St Macartan's Catholic Cathedral (1861), topped by a teetering 77m-high, needle-sharp spire.
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Other Structures
Right in the centre of town is the 1770-built Tholsel, an 18th-century limestone town hall, now occupied by the tourist office.
Heading northwest from here is the restored 19th-century former courthouse, home to the sword and mace presented to the town council by William of Orange after the Battle of the Boyne.
To the north is St Peter's Church of Ireland, not to be confused with St Peter's Roman Catholic Church. This is the church whose spire was burned by Cromwell's men, resulting in the death of 100 people seeking sanctuary inside. Today's church is the second replacement of the original destroyed by Cromwell. It stands in an attractive close approached through lovely…
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Religious Houses
Before the Tudor dissolution of the monasteries (1536–39), Adare had three flourishing religious houses, the remains of which can still be seen. In the village itself, next to the heritage centre, the dramatic tower and southern wall of the Church of the Holy Trinity date from the 13th-century Trinitarian priory that was restored by the first Earl of Dunraven. Holy Trinity is now a Catholic church. There's a restored 14th-century dovecote down the side-turning next to the church.
The ruins of a Franciscan friary, founded by the Earl of Kildare in 1464, stand in the middle of Adare Manor golf course beside the River Maigue. Public access is assured, but let them know at…
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Round Tower & High Crosses
The Protestant church of St Columba, west of the town centre, has a 30m-high 10th-century round tower on the southern side. It's without its conical roof, but it's known to date back at least as far as 1076, when the high king of Tara was murdered in its confined apartments.
Inside the churchyard are four 9th- century high crosses in various states of repair. The West Cross, at the far end of the compound from the entrance, is the stump of a decorated shaft, which has scenes of the baptism of Jesus, the Fall of Adam and Eve, and the Judgement of Solomon on the eastern face, and Noah's ark on the western face. All that is left of the North Cross is the bowl-shaped base…
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Talbot Castle & St Mary's Abbey
Across the River Boyne from the castle are the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian St Mary's Abbey, rebuilt after a fire in 1368 and once home to a wooden statue of Our Lady of Trim, which was revered by the faithful for its miraculous powers.
In 1415 part of the abbey was converted into a fine manor house by Sir John Talbot, then viceroy of Ireland; it came to be known as Talbot Castle. The Talbot coat of arms can be seen on the northern wall. Talbot went to war in France where, in 1429, he was defeated at Orleans by Joan of Arc. He was taken prisoner, released and went on fighting the French until 1453. He became known as 'the scourge of France' and even got a mention…
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