20 Attractions to Explore Near Holycross Abbey

The Lár na Páirce Museum is housed in an elegant 19th century building in Thurles, County Tipperary. The exhibition tells the story of the Gaelic games of hurling, football, camogie and handball, from legendary times to the present day. It was the first centre of its kind in the country and the first museum dedicated to telling the story of Gaelic sports in an interactive way.

Ballynahow Castle was built in the early 16th century by the Purcell family, an Old English family who held the title of Baron of Loughmoe. It stands five storeys high with two internal vaults, each covering two storeys; the top storey was for merly covered by a conical timber roof carried on squinch arches. The lower floors were used in the 1840s as a cottage. The tower house was transferred to state ownership in 1930.

Killahara Castle is a castle in Ireland, located in the Dovea Upper Townland of Thurles. The castle was originally built c. 1550 for Donagh O'Fogartie, the Chief of the O'Fogartie clan who controlled large areas of North Tipperary at that time. The lands and now ruined castle were transferred in the early 18th century to the Trants who already owned large tracts of land in Kerry.

Loughmoe Castle is a ruined castle at Loughmore Village, near Templemore in County Tipperary, Ireland. The oldest part of the castle was built in the thirteenth century, and consists of a four-storey tower-house. Additions were made by the Purcell family in the seventeenth century. The house was the seat of the Purcell and Butler families and home of the Barony of Loughmoe. The Purcells were an Anglo-Irish family who originally arrived in Ireland during the Norman invasion in the 12th century.

St. Declan's Way is a modern walking route linking the ancient ecclesiastical centres of Ardmore in County Waterford and Cashel in County Tipperary. It is 56 miles long and crosses the Knockmealdown Mountains at Bearna Cloch an Buideal , an elevation of 537m. Apart from this stretch, the route passes through undulating farmland.

The Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland’s most visited attractions and is a spectacular archaeological site. A collection of medieval ecclesiastical buildings set on an outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale. The 12th-century round tower is the oldest surviving building on the Rock, which also include a high cross and the ruins of a Romanesque chapel.

The Devil's Bit is a mountain in County Tipperary, Ireland which is 478m above sea level at its highest elevation. It lies to the north-west of the town of Templemore. The mountain is usually ascended via the townsland of Barnane. There is a car park at the base. The top of the mountain looks as if a chunk has been taken out of it, which local folklore has explained as a result of the Devil biting into the mountaintop.

Grantstown Castle is a 15th-century castle for self-catering holidays, set at the heart of the Golden Vale, County Tipperary. It was originally built by the Burke family but by the 1500's it was in the hands of the Earl of Ormond. Extensive restorations took place in the early 2000's and all reconstructions have been carried out with respect for the original construction.

Athassel Priory is the largest medieval priory in Ireland, stretching over a 4-acre site. The priory dates back to the late 12th century. The priory was burnt twice, once in 1329 by Brian King of Thomond and again in 1581 by John Fitzgerald of Desmond. A large town had grown up around the priory but was destroyed during the two raids. The priory was finally dissolved in 1537 and the lands given to Thomas Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, who neglected the abbey, and it subsequently fell into ruin.

Kilcooley Abbey is a national heritage site that nobody outside the parish knows much about. It is located near the village of Gortnahoe. The ruins, situated on a lovely expanse of land on the Kilcooley Estate, date back to 1182, when Donal Mor O’Brien gave the property to the Cistercians.

Castle Otway was the family home of Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway. This former 18th-century country house which stood on a hill on the outskirts of Templederry, near Nenagh in County Tipperary, Ireland. The house was built in stone up against the ruins of Cloghane Castle in two storeys with a 7-bay frontage, of which the middle three were pedimented. It now stands as a derelict ruin with the gardens and estate land used for farming.

Famine Warhouse 1848, traditionally known as the Ballingarry Warhouse or The Widow McCormack's House, is an Irish farmhouse famous as the site of a skirmish in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, at which the Irish tricolour was flown for the first time. It became a National Monument in 1989, was renovated in 2000–01 and was renamed "Famine Warhouse 1848" in 2004.

Clomantagh Castle is part of a unique settlement of tower house, farmhouse and bawn. Originally constructed in the 1430s, additional buildings and outbuildings were added in the subsequent centuries - including a connected 19th century farmhouse. The castle was subject to renovations in the late 20th century and is now managed as a holiday rental property.

St Berrihert’s Kyle is one of Tipperary’s best hidden treasure. It is a stone enclosure containing a variety of stone monuments: 72 slabs, fragments of a bullaun stone, four wheel crosses, the head and base of a high cross, the head of a small cross and a slab with an incomplete inscription on it. The site is located in the townland of Ardane, in the parish of Templeneiry. A vast collection of stone cross slabs and other monuments were placed in the Kyle.

Keeper Hill is situated in the Slieve Felim mountain range in North Tipperary, just 15km east of Limerick City. The mountain is about 15 km east of Limerick City. Keeper Hill is the highest mountain in the Silvermines and the 58th highest in Ireland. There is a stone circle in Bauraglanna townland on the northeastern slopes, known as Firbrega. There is a looped walk around the lower shoulders of Keeper Hill, to which the ‘hardy’ walker can add the ‘trek’ to the summit.

Cahir Castle is one of Ireland’s largest and best-preserved castles. It stands proudly on a rocky island on the River Suir. So effective was its design that it was believed to be impregnable, but it finally fell to the earl of Essex in 1599 when heavy artillery was used against it for the first time. Granted to the powerful Butler family in late 14th century, the castle was enlarged and remodelled between the 15th and 17th centuries. It fell into ruin in the late 18th century.

The Glen of Aherlow is a valley located between Slievenamuck and the Galtee Mountains. It is a wqalkers paradise. There are five looped walking trails in and around Gortavoher. All start & finish around Christ the King car park. All offer wonderful views and a chance to take time out in nature. This large continuous block of forestry is over 3500 acres in size and provides a home to a selection of animals including pine martins and red squirrels.

Swiss Cottage, a delightful ornamental cottage,built in the early 1800s by Richard Butler, 1st Earl of Glengall. Inside, there is a graceful spiral staircase and some exquisitely decorated rooms. The wallpaper is partly original and partly the fruit of a 1980s restoration project.

The historic well of San Patrizio is a structure built by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in Orvieto , between 1527 and 1537 , at the behest of Pope Clement VII , a veteran of the Sack of Rome and eager to protect himself in the event of a siege of the city in which he had withdrawn. During Antonio da Sangallo's absences the works were entrusted to Giovanni Battista da Cortona, while the decorative parts are by Simone Mosca.

A deciduous forest in Kilkenny and has an elevation of 192 metres. Ballykeefe Wood is situated nearby to Ballykeefe Cross Roads, close to Seomra Glas. The woodland features an abundance of bluebells and brambles amongst pedunculate oak and young ash. The wood is adjacent to the old Ballykeeffe limestone mine, which was refurbished in the 1980s and now features rock climbing and an amphitheatre.