Thoughts on Cahir Castle

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed visiting it back in 2010.

We liked it in 2019. It's not flashy-which is probably why it isn't on the tourist radar. It's a defensive castle, not a manor house. So no rooms filled with tapestries, silver and mounted animal heads. No mannequins in period costumes. But lots of good info on how it was used.

Depends a little on your preferences for castles. Cahir is is "fairly intact" condition, and has some "samples" of life in the day. Cashel is much more of a ruin, though still recognizable. We enjoyed both equally. We prefer even more ruined, like Carey Castle, Clifden Castle, etc. with nature reclaiming them. Not only are they less popular, but there are birds and other wildlife hanging around, although that's sometimes just cows :-)

Thank you for your insight. We are definitely going to visit.

There are a lot of places not mentioned in the guide books which are worth visiting - and may be a lot less busy too!

Could you recommend a few. It would really help with the planning. We really enjoy the castles and ruins, and the lovely country side.
We are going Aug. 28th- Sept. 19. and doing the round tour of Ireland. Self driving.

I went to Cahir and Cashel on the same day and liked both -- very different as noted above. Lots of great places go uncovered in the RS books -- as he acknowledges.

I banged my forehead going through a Cahir door wearing a hooded coat. Watch out for those short doors for under-nourished medieval people!

Thank you Dick. I will be sure to let my husband know to mind his head :-))

Adding to the positive voices for Cahir Castle, we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. The doorways ARE low, I am 5’3” and was okay, my traveling companion is almost six feet and had to take care!

We also went to Rock of Cashel which was also interesting - yes it is ruins. Close together, very different, both well worth visiting.

We also enjoyed both Cashel and Cahir towns.
Enjoy you trip.

Could you recommend a few.

Pam it would help if you gave your itinerary so we can recommend the lesser well known places to visit. There's no point in me saying (for example) Doe Castle if you aren't going to be anywhere near it!!!

Of Course. We are in Dublin 3 nights, Kilkenny 1 night, Waterford 2 nights, Kinsale 2 nights, Kenmare 1 night, Dingle 3 nights, Galway 2 nights, Westport 1 night, Derry 1 night, Portrush 2 nights, Belfast 1 night and driving back to dublin to stay at the airport for the last night.

On the Ring of Kerry outside of Ballinskelligs are the ruins of the Bllinskelligs Priory and McCarthy's (Ballinskellig) Castle. In Trim there's Trim Castle (which I think is in the guidebooks) as well as the Yellow Steeple and Newtown Abbey.

Pam, some thought - some places aren't really hidden gems but are still worth visiting!

Do visit Glendalough on your way to Kilkenny. It does feature in all of the books, but is a wonderful early Christian site. As well as the monastery area which does get busy, if you are prepared to walk further, you will lose the crowds. There are a couple of lakes as well as the remains of other small chapels. There are some lovely walks you can do too which will get you well away from the tourists.

As well as Kilkenny Castle which is always popular, the Cathedral is worth visiting and there is also Black Abbey too.

On the way to Waterford, have a stop at the ruined Jerpoint Abbey.

Take the long way from Kinsale to Kenmare along the N71 through Skibbereen and do the circular drive around Sheep’s Head peninsula. This is well off the tourist beat and very pretty drive .

The drive from Dingle to Galway - rather than going via Limerick take the ferry from Tarbert across to Killimer This then lets you follow the N67 up around the coast through Kilkee, Lahinch, Cliffs of Moher, Doolin to Galway. It also lets you see some of the limestone scenery of the Burren which is completely different to elsewhere in ireland.

In Galway spend a day driving round the coast to the tiny village of Roundstone with its small harbour. Go and find the workshop of bodhrán maker, Malachy Kearns, Then head to Clifden and the Sky Drive, (clockwise) which on a sunny day must rank as one of the best short drives in the world. You may want to visit Kylemore Abbey Gardens OR head a bit further on to Kilarey Harbour for a cruise on Ireland’s only Fjord. Head back through Maam Cross and Oughterard. If time allows visit the ruined Aughnanure Castle before heading back to Galway

Near Westport is the Country Life Museum at Castlebar. It is free and has the most amazing collection of videos recording life and customs in Ireland in the mid C20th. We spent a whole day here and it was a highlight of a visit to Ireland. You won’t have time for that long, but even a couple of hours would be worth while. Some of the folk customs were almost heathen!

Wow this is amazing! Thank you so much!!

I forgot to say on your way from Westport to Derry, you might want to visit Grianan of Aileach about 8 miles west of Derry, which is one of the best preserved ring forts in Ireland.

Jerpoint Abbey was wonderful. We bought these marvelous glass worry stones with the faces from the Jerpoint grave art on them. Great small souvenirs and fun to look at. We also enjoyed both Cashel and Cahir and were glad we stopped at both.

Like others we did Cahir and Cashel in the same day. Very different. Cahir lets you walk up the original stairs to the battlements so fun with 2 10 year old boys to pretend to defend the castle from the enemy. Most castles keep you off the stairs and battlements. Cashel is history and the tour is well worth it. We still make square cannon ball jokes (don't know if this is a standard part of the tour).

One quick add, I would strongly recommend the OPW Heritage card. It does not cost much and gives free admission to Cahir Castle as well as many other castles/places including the Rock of Cashel and Jerpoint Abbey.

thank you JimK,
I did buy the card and it arrived a couple of days ago. It is great to get it early as the map has enabled us to uncover even more sites. Thanks for the heads up though!

The great advantage of the card is that you can pop into sites for 30 minutes when passing

For your time in Kinsale, then Kenmare, I’m guessing that’s around Sept. 5-7. Here’s the cruise ship schedule for the nearby Port of cork (actually in the city of Cobh) https://www.portofcork.ie/cruise-schedule/ , to get an idea of how many other folks might be in the area, doing land tours. Looks like the 5th would potentially be more crowded than the 6th or 7th, but who knows where day tour people will actually be touring.

Although Blarney Castle gets some criticism because of the silly kissing the stone idea, the castle and the lovely gardens surrounding it were very enjoyable 2 months ago. I don’t know how September compares with May as far as crowds and garden flowers, but we went on a weekday, and it wasn’t super busy after noon. It’s a one-way, counter-clockwise route to climb up and through the castle, and you can pass those waiting to kiss the stone at the top, but the views are at the top are wonderful, and signs describing parts of the castle and its history are much better than Rick’s book suggests. The gardens were in full bloom, with little alcoves and waterfalls for exploring. The grounds are more extensive than we had tine to fully explore, so you could make a day of it, or part of a day, especially if you were also going to see Cork city (and the fantastic English Market). There’s also the Butter Museum in Cork, with a film describing how Kerrygold butter has become a desirable worldwide product, and a variety of butter making devices and dozens and dozens of butter wrapper designs.

North of Kenmare is Ross Castle, another thoroughly great sight. At the advice from several locals, we went there instead of Muckross House. Admission included a small group guide, who explained a lot about the castle, and life inside it. I didn’t realize that, because there weren’t openings big enough to pass furniture through, any fixtures inside a tower house, from 4 poster covered beds to cabinets and heavy banquet tables, had to be built inside, with timbers passed through the doorway.

West of Waterford, and closer to Cobh and Cork, the small coastal town of Ballycotton, with a lighthouse on an island just offshore was also an enjoyable stop.

Thank you Cyn, those are amazing recommendations as well. I will incorporate them into our travels as we didn't have a lot that day planned :-). Thank you also for the heads up about the boat tours. It is nice to be for warned.