Featured Places

The picturesque Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, represents the third castle on the site. The first was a timber castle built during the 10th century. In approximately 1210, it was replaced by a stone structure whose entrance was about 20 feet above the ground at the northern face. The current keep was added atop the 13th century structure in 1446.The castle was once occupied by Cormac MacCarthy, King of Munster, who is believed to have provided 4,000 men to support Robert the Bruce against the English at the Battle of Bannockburn. It is alleged Robert the Bruce gave half the Stone of Scone to MacCarthy in appreciation for troop support sent to Ireland. The stone eventually became known as the Blarney Stone, which is still located below the battlements of Blarney Castle.

Legends suggest the stone was referenced within the Bible as "Jacob's pillow" and brought to Ireland by the Prophet Jeremiah. It was more likely transported from the Holy Land during the Crusades, supporting the Stone of Scone legend. Yet another legend suggests MacCarthy was told of the Blarney Stone and its magical powers after saving a woman from drowning. The lady, supposedly a witch, told him of a secret stone in the castle that would give the gift of eloquence after kissing it. Whether legend or truth, tourists still flock to the castle for a chance to kiss the Blarney Stone and return with a fascinating story to share.

In 1646, the castle was besieged by Parliamentarians during the Eleven Years' War by Cromwell's general, Lord Broghill. After penetrating the tower walls, his men entered the keep to find only two persons. Nearly the entire garrison initially defending the castle escaped via the underground Badgers Caves, existing below the castle. During the Williamite War in the 1690s, control of Blarney Castle changed after the 4th Earl of Clancarty was captured and his lands were surrendered to the Williamites. In the early 1700s, it was purchased by Sir James St. John Jefferyes. Thereafter, his family built a mansion near the keep, which was eventually destroyed by fire in 1874. A new baronial estate known as Blarney House was constructed in its place.

One of Cork’s most distinctive landmarks, St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral is located where Cork’s Patron Saint founded his first Church and School. It is the diocesan cathedral of the Church of Ireland and the Bishop’s residence is directly opposite the cathedral gate. St. Fin Barre’s was designed by the notable architect, William Burges, who also designed the stained glass, the sculptures, the mosaics, the furniture and metal work for the interior. The foundation stone was laid in 1865 and the building was consecrated in 1870. The Cathedral is stylistically late 13th century pointed Gothic and is cruciform in shape. It has triple spires with portals to the west front and an abundance of external stone carved detail. Cork limestone and marbles were used throughout the building.

Interesting features include the high columns of the nave made of Bath stone. The walls are lined internally with Cork Red Marble. The iconographic scheme deals with the journey to the new Jerusalem and some of the best stained glass in Ireland show scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The organ, dating from 1889, is placed in the north transept. It is the largest Cathedral Organ in Ireland and the only one in a pit in Britain or Ireland. There is a canon ball dating from the siege of Cork, 1690 and there are over 1200 carvings. The Cathedral is of major international significance as one of the key buildings of Burges and of nineteenth century architecture in Ireland.

The Market was created in 1788 by the Protestant or “English” corporation that controlled the city at that time. It was a new flagship municipal market located at the heart of the new commercial city centre. When local government was reformed in 1840, and the representatives of the city’s Catholic, “Irish” majority took over, they established another covered food market, St. Peter’s Market (now the Bodega Bar on Cornmarket Street), which became known as the “Irish Market” to distinguish it from its older counterpart which remained associated with its English creators.  It is thus that the name “English Market” dates from this era of transition

The economic development of Cork in the 18th century was mirrored by the physical development of the city during the same period. After the partial destruction of the city’s walls during the Williamite siege, the city began to expand rapidly in the area outside the walls and began to take on a recognizable modern configuration. The 18th century saw the reclamation of the Dunscombe and the Reap marshes, creating a land-mass that correlates with the area between Saint Patrick’s Street and the South Mall. Hammond’s marsh to the west was also reclaimed. The river channels between the marshes were infilled to form what are now Saint Patrick’s Street, the Grand Parade, Henry Street, Grattan Street, Cornmarket Street, Sheare’s Street and other streets.

As the 1780’s progressed, the regulation and control of markets was brought a major step forward by the corporation’s decision to establish a new, purpose-built, conjoined covered food market at the core of the new city centre – this was inspired by the trend developing in England of modern covered markets. During 1785 and 1786, the Corporation took a number of dwellings fronting onto the newly created Grand Parade as well as onto Princes Street where the markets were to be built, and so began the establishment of the English Market.  The foundation for the Market was formally laid on September 29th, 1786 and work proceeded throughout the next two years. Several stalls were completed in July 1788 and offered for rent, paid weekly, for one year (it was specified that they were for the sale of meat only).

The grand opening took place on 1st August 1788. The newly emerging United States of America had not yet elected it’s first President, George Washington. And just months previously the first vessels of the “First Fleet”, under Captain James Cook, had arrived in a far foreign land. These vessels carried the convicts and marines who are now acknowledged as being the “Founders of Australia”.

Saints Peter and Paul's Church is a Catholic church located on Carey's Lane in Cork City, Ireland. Peter and Paul's was built to replace Carey's Lane Chapel, a much smaller structure built in 1786. Under the guidance of Archdeacon John Murphy, a design competition was run in the 1850s and won by E. W. Pugin, son of Augustus Pugin. The foundation stone was laid on 15 August 1859. Though the construction of the church was completed in on 29 June 1864, and the public were granted the opportunity to view the interior of the church at this time, the church was unable to open as the debts associated with its construction had not yet been paid off. Exactly two years after the church first welcomed members of the public to enter, it was dedicated for worship on 29 June 1866.  Between 1939 and 1962, the roof of the building was renewed, and the baptistry was repaired. In the 1980s the building underwent major renovations.

Interior with stained glass, the church comprises a central main hall with gable roof and two aisles. The walls are of red sandstone with limestone dressing. The aisles are at either side of the main hall, which is covered with a gable roof. The ridge of the roof is decorated by ornamental ironwork, partly golden, terminated at the western gable by an ornamental cross with foliated arms. The grand altar is carved from 36 tons of Carrara marble. The pavements surrounding the altar, and the steps, are all of white Italian vein marble. The apse is decorated with blue and gold ceiling panels. The flooring of the church is in white and black marble. The pulpit and confessionals were carved from Russian oak by craftsmen from Leuven and Cork.

Reginald’s Tower is Waterford’s landmark monument and Ireland’s oldest civic building. It has been in continuous use for over 800 years.  The first tower on the site was built by Vikings after 914 and formed the apex of the triangular settlement, an area known to this day as the Viking Triangle.  Re-built by the Anglo Normans in the 12th century the top two floors were added in the 15th century.  Until about 1700 the tower was the strongpoint of the medieval defensive walls that enclosed the city. When the Anglo-Normans attacked Waterford in 1170, the tower was of strategic importance and its capture heralded the fall of the city. This impressive structure which derives its name from the Hiberno-Norse, ruler of the city, Ragnall MacGillemaire, who was held prisoner by the Anglo-Normans in the tower.

The tower now houses an exhibition on Viking Waterford and is managed by the Office of Public Works. Some of the greatest Viking treasures in Ireland are on display in Reginald’s Tower, including the stunning Kite Brooch, the Viking Warrior’s sword, dog collar and the decorated face weight. It’s also possible to see a cannon ball stuck in the external wall. The cannon ball dates from the siege of Waterford by the army of Oliver Cromwell in 1650 when ships on the River Suir bombarded the city with cannon fire. A similar cannonball is on display on the top floor of the tower. Reginald’s Tower is the first in the chronological series of Waterford Treasures Museums and one of the key visitor attractions in Ireland’s Ancient East.

Ballysaggartmore Towers

Ballysaggartmore Towers are imposing gothic style buildings situated near Lismore in pleasant woodland walking and picnic areas. The magical towers provide a fairy tale setting which does not reflect the sad period in Irish History where extravagance and starvation lived side by side.They were constructed for an Anglo Irish Landlord, Arthur Keily-Ussher no later than 1834. He held an estate of approximately 8000 acres, the majority of which was rented to tenant farmers but he retained approximately 1000 acres as a personal demesne. Arthur Keily-Ussher inherited more than eight thousand acres of land in County Waterford. He left Ireland for a time to fight in the Napoleonic Wars, and on his return he built a relatively modest house in the grounds of his Ballysaggartmore estate. However, at some point in the 1830s, he decided that the house was not grand enough for his needs or reputation, certainly not when compared with Strancally Castle. Strancally Castle is a country house in County Waterford, Ireland. It is located on the River Blackwater, close to the town of Youghal in County Cork.

It was at this point that the Kiely-Ussher’s ambitious plans started to unravel. quickly ran out of money, and it rapidly became clear that their dream of living in the grandest house in all Waterford was just that – a dream. Thwarted in their ambition, the couple were forced to live in the existing dwelling. We can only imagine how despairing and humiliated they must have felt at the realization that the impressive carriageway and gate house they had built would never lead to the mansion that they dreamt of. This monetary crisis coincided with the onset of the Great Hunger. This terrible Famine was without doubt one of the most devastating events in Irish history. Like so much of the country, the population in Waterford dropped by more than fifty percent between the years 1841-51. Looked at in the context of these terrible times, the profligate plans of the Keilly-Usshers seem almost unbelievably crass and divisive.

Kilmacthomas Viaduct

The Kilmacthomas Viaduct dates back to 1878. In the past, it was used for the transit of goods by rail. Closed in 1982, it is now a visitors’ attraction. It’s a fine example of 19th-century construction. The viaduct takes the form of 7 rubble stone arches. Constructed from limestone blocks, it combines arches, voussoirs and parapets, giving it a massive, solid and timeless appearance. Seven-arch rubble stone railway viaduct over road, opened 1878, with single-span section to centre. Closed, 1982. Squared rubble limestone walls with batter to north-west, cut-stone stringcourse, and cut-stone coping to parapets. Series of seven round arches on squared rubble stone piers having rusticated cut-stone stringcourses to springs of arches, dressed rubble limestone voussoirs, and squared rubble limestone soffits having traces of lime render over. Single cast-iron span to centre on cast-iron girders having lattice supports with sections of replacement tubular iron railings, c.1950, over. Freestanding railway signal, c.1950, to north-west.

An elegantly-composed railway viaduct, built to designs prepared by James Otway (1843 - 1906) by Smith Finlaysaon and Company, Glasgow, which forms an imposing landmark in the centre of Kilmacthomas. The civil engineering heritage significance of the composition is identified by the form and construction of the arches, which have retained their original profile, together with the central span incorporating early cast-iron work. The construction in squared rubble limestone attests to high quality stone masonry, and produces an appealing textured visual effect in the landscape. The viaduct, one of a pair in the immediate locality (with 22805035/WD-15-05-35), is of particular significance as a reminder of the development of the Great Southern and Western Railway line by the Waterford, Dungarvan, and Lismore Railway Company in the late nineteenth century, which promoted the economy of smaller urban areas, such as Kilmacthomas.

Dunmore East

Dunmore East is a treat for everyone and a must to visit. The fishing village which is on the mouth of the Waterford Harbour is in the barony of Gaultier which translated from Irish means ” Land of the Foreigner”.  Dunmore or Dún Mór, which means “Great Fort”, got it’s name because of a peninsula fort that was built there in ancient times.

The village was always a fishing port not only on the estuary but also out at sea and the coves offered protection from any storm that would hit.  In 1812 it was decided to build a protective harbour but this was not for the fishermen but for the steam packet ships of the Royal Mail.  The harbour was designed by Alaxander Nimmo but by 1937 the harbour began to silt up and the steam packet was transferred from Dunmore East to Waterford city.  But it was the building of the harbour that meant that fishing could flourish and flourish it did. Today Dunmore East is not just a fishing village but a massive attraction for water sports enthusiasts, boating and sailing, fishing, walking, food and adventure.

Ardmore Cathedral Ruins

Ardmore Cathedral is located on the site of St. Declans Monastery and was formally recognised as a Cathedral in 1170. A Recorded Monument it was first constructed by Meolettrim O Duibh-rathra sometime before his death in 1203. It has undergone several phases of construction over the centuries and the present building is of various periods and styles. The chancel is the oldest part of the cathedral dating from the 9th century, with the nave being late 12th-century work. Further works on the south side-wall and the east gable are of the 14th century. The most unusual feature is the arcade – a series of sculptures on the outside of the west wall telling stories from the bible. Many of the upper panels are worn, but you can just make out the Archangel Michael weighing the souls.

Around Ardmore and its venerated founder centered one of the much-vexed questions of Irish ecclesiastical history, viz. – the date of St. Declan’s mission. The question is now, thanks to the scholarly labours of Dr. Todd, practically set at rest. Instead of a predecessor of the National Apostle, as Dr. Lanigan and his school would make St. Declan, the latter is now more generally regarded as the 6th century contemporary of St. David of Wales. But this is merely by the way. The immediate concern is not with disputed questions of’ ‘chronology but with the remains still existing at Ardmore. The latter comprise the Cathedral and its Round Tower, the primitive oratory known as “Relig Deglain,” or St. Declan’s Grave, and the church by the cliff, commonly called Dysert Church. To the foregoing-list of monuments ought to be added the Holy Well near the ruin last mentioned and St. Declan’s Stone on the beach beneath the village.

It came into the possession of the Guinness family, when Lord Iveagh bought it in the 1930s as a gift for his daughter, the Honourable Aileen Sibell Mary Guinness, on her marriage to the Honourable Brinsley Sheridan Bushe Plunket. The couple were related – his grandmother, Anne Guinness, was a sister of her grandfather, the first Earl of Iveagh. Basil Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, heir to the third Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, who would marry the next Guinness sister Maureen in 1930 was thus not only related to his wife but also a cousin of his brother-in-law Brinsley Plunket since the latter’s mother had been a sister of the first Marquess. The groom was always known as Brinny while his older brother Terence Conyngham Plunket, sixth Lord Plunket, was known as ‘Teddy.’ Teddy was a talented artist who recorded his social life through fascinating cartoons. In 1922, Teddy married Dorothé Mabel Lewis, illegitimate daughter of another Irish peer, the 7^th Marquess of Londonderry and American actress mother, Fannie Ward, who appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s racy 1915 silent film ‘The Cheat.‘ The couple were intimate friends of the Duke of York (later George VI) and his wife Elizabeth (later Queen Mother) but lost their lives in a plane crash in California in February 1938.  As a younger son, Brinny had no estate and little money but his wife’s father was able to provide both. In the early years of their marriage, Aileen and Brinny Plunket hosted many house parties at Luttrellstown. Their regular visitors included Teddy and Dorothé Plunket, Aileen’s cousin Arthur Guinness, Viscount Elveden, heir to the second Earl of Iveagh, commonly known as ‘Lump’ – he was later killed in action in 1945 aged thirty-two), Viscount Elveden’s sister Honor, who married Henry ‘Chips’ Channon in 1933, the Honourable Hamish St Clair-Erskine (briefly Nancy Mitford’s fiance), racing driver Sir Tim Birkin and Major Edward ‘Fruity’ Metcalfe, Equerry to the Duke of Windsor and best man at his wedding to Wallis Simpson in 1937.

During the war years, the Luttrellstown estate was  virtually abandoned so locals were inclined to treat it as a public park, hopping over the wall at any time to shoot and fish. When WW2 ended, the chatelaine arrived back to the Castle and ‘no trespassing’ signs were instituted by her new steward.  In the 1970s, when the contents of the Castle went up for auction, the catalogue cost IR £25, an outrageous sum, probably so-priced to attract only serious bidders, rather than the aristocracies. The newspapers were full of descriptions of the lots, which included linen that had never been removed from its wrappers, some of it moth-eaten.