Clonmel (Cluain Meala) Overview

As Co. Tipperary’s economic hub, Clonmel (pop. 20,000) offers visitors returning from a day in the Comeragh Mountains all the comforts of modern life. While it makes for a good base for hikers with a car, Clonmel doesn’t have much in the way of tourist attractions or budget-friendly accommodations. While in town, drink up: Clonmel produces the apples that are crushed into Bulmer’s Cider.

Transportation. Clonmel’s train station is on Prior Park Rd. (☎21982), less than 2km north of the town center. Trains go to: Limerick (1hr., M-Sa 3 per day 6:45am-3:15pm, €11); Waterford (10:46am; 12:22, 7:20pm; €5); and Rosslare Harbour (1hr., M-Sa 12:40pm, €11). Bus info is available at the tourist office and train station. Coaches run from the front of the train station to: Cork (2hr.; M-Sa 4 per day 8am-5pm, Su 2:30 and 8:15pm; €15); Dublin (3hr.; M-Sa 6-7 per day 6:45am-5:30pm, Su 9am-8:30pm; €13); Galway (3hr., 7 per day 9:45am-6:25pm, €19); Kilkenny (1hr., 8 per day 6:45am-8:25pm, €7.50) via Carrick-on-Suir (20min.); Limerick (1hr., 8-9 per day 9:45am-9:25pm, €8) via Tipperary (1hr.); Rosslare (3hr., 2-3 per day 9:50am-5:40pm, €6); Waterford (1hr., 10 per day 7:30am-10:05pm, €6).

Orientation And Practical Information. Clonmel’s central street runs parallel to the Suir River. From the station, take a right and then the first left and follow Prior Park Road straight into town. Prior Park Rd. becomes commercial Gladstone Street, which intersects the main drag, known successively as Irishtown, O’Connell, pedestrian-only Mitchell, and Parnell Street. Mary Street runs parallel to Gladstone St. Sarsfield Street is the continuation of Gladstone St., and Abbey Street runs off Parnell toward the riverside quays. The tourist office is located in the basement of St. Mary’s Church, off Mary St. (☎22960. Open M-Th 9:30am-4:30pm, F 9:30am-3:45pm; closed 1-2pm.) The AIB (☎22500) and Bank of Ireland (☎21011) are neighbors on Parnell St. and both have ATMs. (Both open M 10am-5pm, Tu and Th-F 10am-4pm, W 10:30am-4pm.) Visit Citizens Information, 2-3 Emmet St., to check for work opportunities. (☎22267. Open M-F 10am-4pm, W-Th 10am-4pm and 7-9pm.) The police (Garda) station is on Emmet St. (☎77640). Mulligan’s, Market Pl. and O’Connell St., is the local pharmacy. (☎29202. Open M-W and Sa 9am-6pm, Th 9am-7pm, F 9am-9pm.) Do laundry at Cleanwell, 48 O’Connell St. (☎21969. Wash and dry €5-10. Open M-Sa 9am-6pm.) St. Joseph’s and St. Michael’s Hospital is on Western Rd. (☎77000). The snooker club Circles, 16 Market St., doubles as an Internet cafe. (☎23115. €0.10 per min., €5.70 per hr. Open daily 11am-11pm.) The library, Emmet St., also provides Internet access. (☎24545. €2 per 50min. Open M-Tu 10am-5:30pm, W-Th 10am-8:30pm, F-Sa 10am-1pm and 2-5pm.) The post office is also on Emmet St., by the library. (☎21742. Open M and W-F 9am-5:30pm, Tu 9:30am-5:30pm, Sa 9:30am-1pm.)

Accommodations And Camping. Clonmel, full of hotels and B&Bs, is not the most backpacker-friendly town. The area along the Cahir road past Irishtown is patched with B&Bs. You’ll sit in the lap of luxury at Brighton House 3, 1 Brighton Pl. The elegant 200-year-old Georgian guest house has beautiful, spacious rooms with their own sitting areas and a working well in the garden. From the train and bus station, walk toward town; it’s on the left at the first set of lights. (☎23665; www.tipp.ie/brighton.htm. Singles €45-50; doubles €90. MC/V.) Close to downtown at the Riverside House 3, New Quay, guests watch swans swim by from the windows of the expansive rooms. This stately house has been overlooking the Suir for more than a century. (☎25781. Singles €30; doubles €60, ensuite €65. Cash only.) Budget options increase a kilometer from town. Halfway between Clonmel and Cahir on N24 is The Apple Farm 1, a grove turned campsite. (☎41459; www.theapplefarm.com. Open May-Sept. Electricity €2.50. Showers free. €6 per person, children €4. MC/V.) Well outside town—but well worth the trip—is Powers-the-Pot Camping & Caravan Park 1, Harney’s Cross. Follow Parnell St. east from town, turn right at the first traffic light (not N24), cross the Suir, and continue for 9km over a mountain road to the signposted turn-off. Gracious owners Niall and Jo provide maps and guides for the Munster Way and answer all outdoors-related questions. (☎23085; www.powersthepot.net. Open May-Sept. Free kitchen and showers. 2-person tent €12.50; each additional adult €4, child €1.50. MC/V.)

Food And Pubs. SuperQuinn dominates Market Pl. (☎27222. Open M-F 8:30am-10pm, Sa 8am-7pm, Su 10am-7pm.) Find health food at The Honey Pot, 14 Abbey St. (☎21457. Open M-Sa 9:30am-6pm.)  O Tuama’s Cafe 2, 5-6 Market Pl., serves healthy, filling meals for under €9 in an upbeat environment. Top off your meal with a smoothie (€4) from the juice bar. (☎27170. Open M-Sa 8:30am-5:30pm, F 8:30am-6pm, Sa 9am-5:30pm. MC/V.) Niamh’s 2 (NEEVS), at the corner of Mitchell St. at Gladstone St., offers specialty coffees, hot lunches, sandwiches (€7), and all-day breakfast (€4.50-8) in a deli-style restaurant. The same sandwiches are €3 less for takeaway. (☎25698. Open M-F 9am-5:45pm, Sa 9am-5pm. MC/V.) Home Bakery 1, 26 Mitchell St., has inexpensive filled sandwiches (€4) and all the artery-clogging fare your heart can handle. (☎22375. Open M-Sa 9am-6pm. Cash only.) Locally acclaimed Catalpa 4, on Sarsfield St., hosts Italian feasts in a former bank vault. (☎26821. Pizza and pasta €10-14. Meat dishes €15-22. Open Tu-Su 6-9:30pm, W-F also 12:30-2pm. AmEx/MC/V.) Tom Skinny’s Pizza Parlor 2, Market St., specializes in deep dish pizza—made fresh before your eyes—and ice cream. Glorious aromas, a shiny jukebox, and a portrait of Marilyn Monroe complement the delightful decor. (☎26006. Pizza €6-14. Ice cream €1.50-2.50. Open M-F noon-midnight, Sa-Su noon-1am. MC/V.)

At enormous Mulcahy’s, 47 Gladstone St., pubbers compete on a plateau of shiny snooker tables or head upstairs to Danno’s for dancing. (☎22825; www.mulcahys.ie. Carvery lunch noon-5:30pm, à la carte 8am-9:30pm. Entrees €8-11. W trad. Sa hosts Danno’s, an 18+ disco. Cover €10. MC/V until 9:30pm.) Four-time winner of the Munster Pub of the Year, Tierney’s, 13 O’Connell St., is full of odd knickknacks, from a shelf of musty books to a life-sized Guinness toucan. If it all gets to be too much, head out back to the heated beer garden. (☎24467. Open from 10:30am. Kitchen open 12:30-9:30pm. Entrees €13-18. MC/V.) O’Keefe’s, 33 Parnell St., next to Hearns Hotel, is Clonmel’s newest nightspot, with leather-covered barstools, a half-dozen widescreen TVs showing football and rugby, and a back room reserved for dancing. Every weekend two DJs light up the floor. Leave your sweatpants at home—“neat dress” is required. (☎21611. Comedy club every 3rd Su; trad W 9pm, Th-Su late bar until 2am. €15. MC/V only M-W.)

Sights And Festivals. The Heritage Trail map points pedestrians to some great spots in Clonmel. Stops along the way include the West Gate, at the western end of O’Connell St., an 1831 reproduction of the medieval gate that once separated Irishtown from the more prosperous Anglo-Norman area. The 25m octagonal tower of Old St. Mary’s Church, Mary St., stands near the remnants of the town wall that fell to Cromwell’s advances in 1650. Just inside the door of the Franciscan Friary on Abbey St. are the 15th-century tomb effigies of a knight and lady of the Butler family. The South Tipperary County Museum, Mick Delahunty Sq., off Emmet St. across from the library, tells of the county’s history since the Stone Age and hosts small traveling exhibitions. The beautifully lit permanent gallery displays retro and modern art, as well as schoolchildren’s work. (☎34550; www.southtippcoco.ie. Open Tu-Sa 10am-5pm. Last admission 45min. before closing. Free.) South Tipperary Arts Centre, Nelson St., hosts monthly visual art exhibitions. (☎27877; www.southtipparts.com. Open M-F 10am-5:30pm, Sa noon-5pm. Free.) Clonmel’s history as a transport hub is celebrated at the Museum of Transport, 2km outside town on Gortafleur Rd. To check out the collection of antique cars, head past the train station, make a right onto the Waterford Rd., and then a left onto Gortafleur Rd., past the racecourse. Every July, Clonmel comes alive with nine days of music, theatre, and dance for the Clonmel Junction Festival. Past performances have included everything from Afro-Cuban music to Polish DJs. (☎28521; www.junctionfestival.com. Tickets €8-30.)

Outdoor Activities. The tourist office’s books and leaflets describe several walks in the area and nearby Nire Valley. The East Munster Way begins as a gentle footpath through the lowland hills of Carrick-on-Suir, Kilsheelan, and Clonmel, extends to a perch on the Comeragh Mountains, and then runs full-force into the Knockmealdowns before ending 70km later in Clogheen. Along the way hikers pass the Kilsheelan Woods, the glistening Suir River, and the magnificent vistas in the Comeragh Mountains. In Clogheen, ambitious hikers can follow the Druhallow Way, which connects with the Kerry Way, or take Blackwater Way into isolated Araglin Valley. The best maps to use are Ordnance Survey #74 and 75 (available at the Clonmel tourist office; €8.25). For specific information on the East Munster Way, consult guides such as the East Munster Way Map Guide, available at Parson’s Green, a garden, campsite, and activity center all rolled into one outside of the Clogheen town center. (☎65290; www.clogheen.com. Open M-F 9am-6pm.) Powers-the-Pot Campground is also a sure bet for information on hikes in the Comeragh and Knockmealdown Mountains.

The Comeragh Mountains are wave-shaped, which means that trails vary greatly in difficulty depending on the direction of approach. The terrain ranges from the soft and wet lowlands to the rocky and challenging coums (Irish for “mountain hollows”), which often house lakes. The Comeragh terrain includes marshy plateaus that are manageable even for city folk in sneakers. The excellent Nire Valley Walks maps #1-12 (available at Powers-the-Pot; €1) illustrate two- to four-hour day hikes from Clonmel. More challenging treks can also be found in this region. One such option begins from Powers-the-Pot, a half-mile off the Munster Way. With Ordnance Survey #75 in hand, head east from the campsite and follow the ridges south. It is relatively hard to get lost in good weather, but be sure someone knows you’re out there. Guided hikes are also available; ask Niall at Powers-the-Pot.

The Knockmealdown Mountains are a dramatic collection of roughly contoured summits straddling the Tipperary-Waterford border 19.3km south of Cahir. Many hikes begin in either Clogheen or, for a less challenging route, Newcastle, the location of the tiny but locally renowned Nugent’s Pub. One sight of particular interest is the spectacular Vee Road, which runs south from Clogheen to the Knockmealdown Gap and erupts with purple rhododendrons in May and June. If you’re not in the mood for hiking, driving the Vee Rd. between Lismore and Clogheen gives you an exhilarating look at the Gap, the Knockmealdowns, and the beautiful Bay Loch, a supposedly bottomless lake whose mystique lies in a local legend about a woman who haunts its waters. Two-thirds of the way up the Gap, as pines give way to heather and bracken, a parking lot marks the path up Sugarloaf Hill. From there you can continue to Knockmealdown Peak (795m), the highest in the range. The beautiful trail over the western half of the Knockmealdowns begins along the Vee at the same place and heads west, up the lower peaks of Knockshanahullion and Farbreaga, ending at the Kilcaroon Bridge on R665 between Ballyporeen and Clogheen. The unofficial tourist office in Clogheen, across from the turn-off for Vee Rd., serves generous portions of maps with a side of local lore, but sometimes observes irregular hours. (☎65258. Usually open M-F 10am-5pm.)