Cahir

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Cahir
Irish: An Chathair
County Tipperary

Castle Street from the walls of Cahir Castle
Location
Grid reference: S051252
Location: 52°22’30"N, 7°55’30"W
Data
Population: 3,593  (2016)
Post town: Cahir
Postcode: E21
Dialling code: 052
Local Government
Council: Tipperary
Dáil
constituency: 		Tipperary

Cahir is a town in the South Riding of County Tipperary. The town is best known for its castle and the Swiss Cottage. It is in the barony of Iffa and Offa West.

Location and access

For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roads: the Dublin to Cork N8, and the Limerick to Waterford 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 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 regional railway line. The town's railway station opened on 1 May 1852.[1] There are two trains a day to Tipperary and Limerick Junction and two to Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Waterford. There is no Sunday service.

Regular bus services are available to Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford.

History

The name Cathair or an Chathair translates as "stone ringfort", while the name Cathair Dún Iascaigh means "town of the fort of the fishery".[2] In older accounts, it was often spelled Caher.

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, which culminated in the construction of a meeting house in Abbey Street in 1833. The principal Quaker family names, largely engaged in milling, were Grubb, Going and Walpole.[3] It was one of the first towns to be linked by stagecoach in the nineteenth century when Charles Bianconi commenced services between Clonmel, Cahir and Cashel. 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, is the town's main tourist attraction. Cahir has a fine Church of Ireland 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 along with numerous heritage walks. The nearby Galtee Mountains 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 south-west lie the Mitchelstown Caves. The salmon weir, on the opposite side of the bridge from the castle, is a popular location to fish.

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

Sport

Cahir has a number of teams in various sports, Cahir GAA are the local Gaelic team and play in the GAA pitch located on the Ardfinnan road. They were Tipperary Senior Football Champions in 2003. Cahir Park AFC are the local junior association football team. Formed in 1912 they are one of the oldest junior teams in the country. Their ground is also located in Cahir Park on the Ardfinnan road.

Notable people

  • John Noel Dempsey (1915–89), Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut 1959–61 and Governor of Connecticut 1961–71.
  • Michael Murphy (1831–93), awarded the Victoria Cross, which he later forfeited.
  • Brenda Hyland, winner of the Rose of Tralee competition in 1983 (although she represented County Waterford).
  • Tommy O'Donnell, Munster and Ireland Rugby Player.
  • Richard Butler, last Baron Cahir and 2nd Earl of Glengall, is buried here.
  • Richard Pennefather, eminent judge, is buried here.

Image gallery

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Cahir)

References

  1. ↑ "Cahir station". Railscot — Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-07. 
  2. ↑ http://www.logainm.ie/?text=Cahir
  3. ↑ South Tipperary 1570-1842 Religion, Land and Rivalry, Four Courts Press, David J. Butler
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