County Tipperary Tourist Attractions List of sites and attractions in County Tipperary

In name and appearance, "the Rock" suggests a citadel, a place more familiar with power than with prayer. In fact, Cashel (or Caiseal) means "fortress," and so it was. The rock is a huge outcropping--or rather upcropping--of limestone topped with some of the most spectacular ruins in Ireland, including what was formerly the country's finest Romanesque chapel. This was the seat of clerics and kings, a center to rival Tara. Now, however, the two sites vie only for tourists.

Tipperary is Ireland’s largest inland county and lies at the heart of Irish farming with gentle hills and richly fertile river valleys. The town of Thurles is North Tipperary’s largest town and makes an ideal base for visiting the impressive Cistercian Holy Cross Abbey.

See the beautifully restored chapels and cloister, the eye-catching fleur-de-lis symbols carved on the old stone pillars and the medieval fresco. Why not go horseriding or walking through the rolling hills of Tipperary, or stay in one of the many hotels in this verdant county.

One of the largest of Ireland's medieval fortresses, this castle is in an extraordinary state of preservation. Tours explain some fascinating features of the military architecture, and then you're free to roam through a maze of tiny chambers, spiral staircases, and dizzying battlements.