For those of you who have had the chance to visited Ireland and see the Rock of Cashel not far away is the town of Cahir which often gets overlooked . So please come along with me today for a stroll through Cahir castle .

The town of Cahir is located in County Tipperary, in the middle of Ireland and is about a fifteen minute drive from Cashel. A  bit like the town of Mitchelstown that we visited a few weeks ago this was on the main road from Dublin to Cork and was a huge traffic bottleneck. Nowadays its bypassed so we can enjoy the incredible castle that stands in the centre of the town.

 

Let’s park the car in the shadow of the castle and have a look around.

The town of Cahir ( pronounced ” care ” ) is taken from the Irish Cathir, or “An Chathair” , meaning ring fort , and there has been a settlement here for centuries.

The castle that we see in front of us dates from 1142 when it was built by Conor O Brien, the Prince of Thomond. Its situated on an Island on the river Suir that flows through the town and as you can see it’s in a really impressive setting.

Due to the ongoing Covid situation we cannot go inside any of the rooms in the castle, but we can walk around  and its free admission !!

Let’s head into the castle .. can you see how the castle is built on a rocky outcrop on the island ? Now, let’s go into the keep under the portcullis and entrance gate. Can you see overhead there is a rectangular ” murder hole “. This is where unwanted visitors could be bombarded with stones or boiling oil – what a simple and effective security system !!

Once inside we can see more of the castle. I’m told the castle was granted to the powerful Butler family in late 14th century. The castle was enlarged and remodelled between the 15th and 17th centuries. It fell into ruin in the late 18th century and was partially restored in the 1840s.

The Great Hall was partly rebuilt in 1840 . In 1961 the last Lord Cahir died and the castle became the property of the state and was renovated and opened to the public. Nowadays Cahir castle is considered the largest castles in Ireland.

As we walk around can you see the battlements, turrets, slit windows and the centuries of history that went into this amazing place ?? I love the tiny doorways. My ancestors must have stood far less tall !

In the grounds of the castle lie the manor house and rose garden, what a pretty place – and even nicer that we are blessed by sunshine today .

I will bet the walls of this place could tell some tales, it is really interesting to be able to visit such a well preserved castle . Let’s now leave and take a quick ramble along the banks of the river Suir. It’s a perfect day for a stroll as the sun is out , the flowers are in bloom and there is hardly a breath of wind . A signpost tells us that the river walk goes on for a few miles- pity we don’t have time today to go the whole distance .

I think you will agree that Cahir castle is a majestic and impressive example of an Anglo Norman castle and it’s a privilege that we can visit and enjoy the setting and architecture.