Cahir (; ) is a town in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is also a civil parish in the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Iffa and Offa West.

Location and access

For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to Cork N8, and the

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

N24. The N8 was realigned in 1991 to run west of the town, while the old road through it was renumbered the R670. Traffic from the N24 still left the town badly congested, however, until October 2007 when this road was also realigned to bypass Cahir to the north and east. The same road improvement scheme saw major changes to the N8 corridor: a new motorway, the M8, was constructed west of the town between 2006 and 2008. Access to Cahir from this motorway is gained at Junctions 10 and 11. Cahir is on the Limerick–Waterford railway line. The town's

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

opened on 1 May 1852. There are two trains a day to Tipperary and Limerick Junction and two to

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

Carrick on Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical B ...

and

. There is no Sunday service.

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

runs regular services to Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford through the town.

History

The name ''Cathair'' or ''an Chathair'' translates as "stone

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

", while the name ''Cathair Dún Iascaigh'' means "town of the

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

of the

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish far ...

". In older accounts, it was often spelled " Caher". Cahir Abbey was established in the late 12th century. For much of its history, the town has been influenced by the Butler family. It was from this family that the first Barons of Cahir were created. It was known for much of its history as being a defence town. Cahir, together with Clonmel, were the centres in South Tipperary of the Quaker population, who constructed a meeting house in Abbey Street in 1833. The principal Quaker family names, largely engaged in milling, were Grubb, Going and Walpole. It was one of the first towns to be linked by

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

in the nineteenth century, when Charles Bianconi commenced services between

, Cahir and

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

. The building at The Square, where The Galtee Inn is now sited, was the stopping point in the town for Bianconi's coaches.

Amenities and features

Cahir Castle, which is situated on a small island in the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

, is one of the town's main tourist attractions. Cahir has a fine

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

parish church, still in use, designed by John Nash, one of only three ecclesiastical buildings he designed in Ireland. Another major attraction is the

Swiss Cottage Swiss Cottage is an area in the London Borough of Camden, England. It is centred on the junction of Avenue Road and Finchley Road and includes Swiss Cottage tube station. Swiss Cottage lies north-northwest of Charing Cross. The area was ...

; there are also numerous specialty heritage walks. The nearby

Galtee Mountains Galtymore or Galteemore () is a mountain in the province of Munster, Ireland. At , it is one of Ireland's highest mountains, being the 12th-highest on the Arderin list, and 14th-highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Galtymore has the 4th-highe ...

form the largest inland range in Ireland and are home to Glengarra Wood, which is a popular walking area. The Knockmealdown Mountains stand south of the town, while to the southwest lie the Mitchelstown Caves. The salmon weir, on the opposite side of the bridge from the castle, is a popular fishing location. Cahir is a small

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...

town. A shopping precinct is centred on the town square adjacent to Castle Street. The town has a leisure centre (Duneske), an all-weather soccer pitch, all-weather tennis courts, a Downhill and Enduro mountain-biking track and a GAA pitch. An 18-hole golf course lies outside the town.

Education

Schools in the town include Bunscoil na Cathrach (Primary School) and Coláiste Dún Iascaigh (Secondary School). Our Lady of Mercy Primary School and Cahir Boys National School merged in 2022 to form Bunscoil na Cathrach.

Sports

Cahir has a number of teams in various sports. Cahir GAA are the local

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

team and play on the GAA pitch located on the

Ardfinnan Ardfinnan () is a small village in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the River Suir and R665 road, R665 regional road. The Catholic parish of Ardfinnan is made up of three areas: Ardfinnan, Ballybacon, and Gra ...

road. They were Tipperary Senior Football Champions in 2003. Cahir Park AFC are the local junior soccer team. Formed in 1910, they are one of the oldest junior soccer teams in the country. Their ground is also located in Cahir Park on the Ardfinnan road.

International relations

Cahir has been twinned with the town of

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

in England since 2003.

Notable people

* Richard Butler, 2nd Earl of Glengall * John Noel Dempsey (1915–89), Connecticut politician * William Joshua Ffennell (1799–1867), Irish fishery reformer * Edmund Keating Hyland (1780–1845), uilleann piper; his statue in Cahir main square * Michael Murphy (1831–93), awarded

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, later forfeited * Tommy O'Donnell, Munster and Ireland rugby player * Richard Pennefather, Irish judge, buried Cahir * Marian Tobin (1870–1955) ran a safe house during the Irish War of Independence

Image gallery

File:Cahir.jpg, Cahir Castle File:Protestant church-2.JPG, The

parish church in Cahir. File:Cahir AD1599.JPG, A drawing of Cahir in 1599 File:Cahir Castle, Tipperary.JPG, Cahir Castle, Tipperary, lit up at night.

References

External links

Official Site

Visit Cahir Website

Cahir
in the Book of County Tipperary (1889) {{Authority control Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore Towns and villages in County Tipperary Civil parishes of Iffa and Offa West