18 Old Ruins to Explore in Waterford

The Ardmore Round Tower is one of the best-preserved examples in Ireland. Situated in the middle of a still-used Cemetery. It is a complete tower but the conical cap is not the original. The 12th century tower has three clearly visible string courses and each course is offset, this plus the inclination or batter of the walls give the tower it's distinctive tapered shape. The sandstone blocks are dressed to the curve. The tower has a total of 7 windows and a decorated.

Ballysaggartmore Towers are two ornate entrance lodges that are situated on the former Ballysaggartmore Demesne approx 2.5 kilometres from the town of Lismore in County Waterford, Ireland. The structures are considered architectural "follies".They were constructed for an Anglo Irish Landlord, Arthur Keily-Ussher no later than 1834. The house itself was large but of a very plain design, which was in obvious contrast to the lodges.

Carey's Castle, is an absolutely charming and picturesque 18th century structure situated in a glen beside the Glenary River in a scenic woodlands near Clonmel. There is a small lawn with picnic site close to the car park. A walk of about 500m takes you to Carey’s Castle, through mixed woodland and there is a pleasant walking path along the river bank for about 600m.

A majestic castle located in Clonea Lower townland, roughly two and a half miles east of Dungarvan, the castle lay on a rocky outcrop at the edge of the shore by Clonea Beach. It was owned by the Maguire. The structure's entry in National Monuments Service records indicate that it was "not an antiquity", but was built in the late 18th or early 19th century, possibly on the site of an earlier Fitzgerald family fortification.

Dromana Gate is a striking Hindu-Gothic gate lodge and was the entrance to Villierstown and the Dromana estate. Henry Villiers Stuart inherited the estate in the early part of the 18th century and in 1826 married an Austrian widow known as Theresia Pauline Ott of Vienna.The Gate-Lodge comprises of a central pointed archway topped with an onion dome and two side chambers, each with four windows and a fireplace.

The ruins of Dunhill Castle is situated on a rock outcrop south of the village. The castle was owned by John Power in 1641 and traditionally it is thought to be an ancient stronghold which fell to Oliver Cromwell in the 17th century. It is one of the iconic attractions in this area and there are so many opportunities for travelling through history.

This 3.5 acre walled artists garden and 3 acre woodland garden laid out between the ruins of a former woollen mill, is situated on the River Dawn. Unusual plants, trees and special water features. Featured in books, magazines and on television. Stones from former buildings have been recycled into walls, raised borders, obelisks and magic standing stones.

The Gaulstown Dolmen dates to c.3000-4000 BC and is regarded as one of the finest portal tombs in Ireland. The east-facing portal stones stand eight feet high and the capstone is 14-feet long and possibly weighs over 40 tonnes. It is likely that the structure was once enclosed by a mound or cairn, which has since been removed or eroded away. There is evidence that some of the upright stones may have moved over time, as the shape of the chamber has been impacted.

Geneva Barracks in County Waterford, Ireland, was a barracks created in 1783 by converting a settlement which had been created for an 18th-century colony of disaffected citizens of Geneva following the Geneva Revolution of 1782. Built near Passage East, the colony was commissioned by the Irish Parliament and approved by British Royalty.

The Kilmacthomas Viaduct is a former Irish railway viaduct located in County Waterford. It is one of the attractions of the Waterford Greenway, a green cycle route with many tourist sites as stopover points.

Knockeen Dolmen is one of the finest dolmens in Ireland. The six uprights of this very impressive portal tomb stand, at the highest point, at 2.8 metres and form a sort of porch with the doorstone, which reaches almost to the same height. This is one of the finest dolmens in Ireland. The six uprights of this very impressive portal tomb stand, at the highest point, at 2.8 metres and form a sort of porch with the doorstone, which reaches almost to the same height.

Lismore Castle is a luxury exclusive use castle, built by King John in 1185. It sleeps up to 27 guests and is perfect for family gatherings and celebrations. Spread over seven acres, the historic gardens at Lismore Castle in County Waterford are divided into two very distinct and different halves. The Upper Garden is a complete example of the 17th-century walled garden first constructed here by Richard Boyle, the First Earl of Cork, in about 1605.

A small Augustinian monastery near Youghal. It is now a dreary and lonely spot, on the banks of that beautiful Munster river- the Blackwater: although it was at one time, the home of pious monks, whose graves can still be discerned beneath the tall oaktrees which form a long body-guard around the Abbey ruins.

Ogham stones are stones on which short marks were made in groups of between one and five notches, strokes or diagonal lines, usually on the edge of the stone. Each group signifies a sound in Old Irish, and they are the oldest surviving written form of the language which is still spoken in this area. The greatest concentration of Ogham stones in Ireland is to be found here in Corca Dhuibhne, with over 60 known examples.

One of the earliest ecclesiastical sites in Ireland was founded in Ardmore by Saint Declan, a pre-Patrician Saint in the 5th century. At the site are the later remains of an ecclesiastical enclosure. Inside the enclosure are Saint Declans Oratory, the 'Cathedral' shown above, a 12th century round tower, two ogham stones and several cross slabs. The Cathedral, which consists of a nave and chancel, was built by Moelettrim O Duibh Rathra sometime during the 12th century in a number of phases.

St. Carthage Cathedral, Lismore is a Church of Ireland cathedral in Lismore, County Waterford. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Formerly the cathedral of the Diocese of Lismore, it is now one of six cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Cashel and Ossory. The medieval cathedral was in ruins after a fire in the 17th century.

The Metal Man is a freestanding painted cast iron statue of a Royal Navy petty officer. It is placed between Rosses Point and Oyster Island. It was cast in 1819 by Thomas Kirke in London.It was placed on Perch Rock in 1821. It was originally made for the Blackrock Beacon, but Sligo merchants suggested it be placed on Perch Rock. It has an identical twin beacon the Metal Man, Tramore, County Waterford. From 16 October 1908, an acetylene light was placed beside him.

A heritage narrow gauge railway follows the route of the abandoned Waterford – Dungarvan route, from the station at Kilmeadan into Gracedieu Junction, beside Waterford Greenway. The rolling stock is a Simplex diesel locomotive that was built to operate in the peat industry and then used when digging out the channel tunnel. Waterford Suir Valley Railway brings rails golden age to life onboard a vintage train ride departing from Kilmeadan, County Waterford.