World Country Guide

The Southeast

Lying in the southeast corner of Ireland, Co Wexford has an enviable sunshine record, beautiful countryside and a string of delightful harbour towns and sandy beaches. The climate is milder than elsewhere and produces a number of stunning gardens, open to the public by arrangement.
Built close to the mouth of the River Slaney, Wexford is a busy commercial and fishing town named by Vikings. Shops, pubs and an atmospheric charm make Wexford an appealing place to visit; that and its internationally renowned week-long Opera Festival, held in October.
The Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig, northwest of Wexford comprises 17 sites linking Ireland’s history from prehistoric times to medieval. The mudflats of the Slaney Estuary (known as ‘slobs’) make up the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve, at its best between October and April when wildfowl are here. Kilmore Quay is an attractive fishing village with fine sandy beaches, thatched cottages, pubs and a maritime museum. A short distance offshore, the uninhabited Saltee Islands, one of Ireland’s most important bird sanctuaries, are worth visiting. More easily accessed from Waterford, there is a beautiful drive down from Arthurstown to Hook Head Peninsula, which boasts many lovely sandy beaches and clifftops that are ideal for walking, cycling and horse riding.
Surrounded by farmland and stretched out along the River Slaney, Enniscorthy’s moment of fame arrived in 1798 in the form of the Battle of Vinegar Hill, when the United Irishmen made their last stand against the British. The thriving market town, by far the most attractive in Co Wexford, was established by the Normans – it is still dominated by the Norman castle and the much later St Aidan’s Cathedral. The castle houses the Wexford County Museum.
Well inland for an old port, New Ross, perched along the River Barrow, was the original family base of the American Kennedy family and remains devoted to the US President. The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Park and Arboretum, south of New Ross, is dedicated to his memory and was opened in 1968 and is a popular place for easy walks. Kilmokea Gardens are arguably the most beautiful gardens in the southeast of Ireland, and not to be missed.
Bordered by the sea and divided by two upland ranges – the Comeragh and the Monavullagh – Waterford has both rugged beauty and an attractive coastline of fishing villages, holidays resorts and beaches.
Tightly compressed into a curve of the River Suir, Waterford was founded by Vikings in order to control shipping entering the rivers Suir and Barrow. Above the quayside, Reginald’s Tower and Museum, built in 1003, is a forceful reminder of a turbulent past – Waterford was one of the few places to successfully oppose Cromwell’s forces. Organised tours of Waterford Crystal Glass Factory illustrate the comprehensive story of crystal manufacture. Dunmore East, southeast of Waterford, is a charming village close to safe bathing beaches and attractive coves, including Lady Cove, a neat sandy bay popular with local people and tourists. Tramore, south of Waterford is one of Ireland’s main holiday resorts. It has a racecourse, plenty of pubs, a large amusement park, miniature railway, boating lake and a 4.8km- (3 mile-) sandy beach caressed by the Gulf Stream.
The small harbour town of Dungarvan is found where the River Colligan flushes into Dungarvan Harbour. It provides a good base from which to explore the clifftops of Helvick Head. Nearby, Ardmore is renowned for its long, fine beach set against high cliffs and its place in Irish history as an important ecclesiastical site based on a seventh-century monastic settlement founded by St Declan.
The second-smallest of Ireland’s counties, Carlow, sandwiched between the rivers Barrow and Slaney, is mostly flat acres of rich farmland that edge along the base of hill country to the south, east and west. This is an unspoilt part of Ireland, a place of sleepy villages and lush countryside. Carlow Town used to be an Anglo-Norman stronghold, but these days it is largely concerned with the manufacture of sugar beet. It was the southernmost outpost of the area controlled by the English Crown and, as a result, heavily fortified. Carlow County Museum is in the town hall on Centaur Street.
This is a busy agricultural county, a place of lush, well-tended countryside, neat, attractive villages, homely cottages and dramatic castles along the river valleys of the Nore and the Barrow. Fishing, horseracing, riding and golf are the main activities in this manicured landscape.
Kilkenny is named after St Canice, who established a monastery here. Kilkenny Castle continues to dominate the town, a blend of Gothic, Classical and Tudor styles. Built on a hilltop site in the sixth century, St Canice’s Cathedral dates mostly from the 13th century.
Dunmore Cave, north of Kilkenny is one of the most famous in Ireland, notably for its great beauty. In the past, people took refuge here from the Vikings, not always successfully. Kells Priory, south of Kilkenny, the site of an Augustinian priory, is little known in Ireland, but is one of the most beautiful and finest ruins in the country. Jerpoint Abbey, south of Thomastown is a remarkable Cistercian ruin, famed for the carvings on its tombs. It dates from 1158, but was embraced by Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.
The lack of a coastline does not affect the beauty of this county in any way, as a walk to the top of Slievenamon (the mountain of the fairies), north of Clonmel, will reveal. Northwards, amid farmlands, rises the limestone Rock of Cashel, to the south are the Comeragh Mountains. The countryside of Tipperary is dotted with Norman castles and churches, and Stone and Iron Age sites.
The town of Clonmel sits on the banks of the River Suir, and dates from the 10th century, but there is considerable evidence all around of occupation from prehistoric times. Today, Clonmel is the most important town in the county. The County Museum in Parnell Street has a diverse collection of artefacts, including Roman coins and prehistoric items.
The Comeragh and Knockmealdown mountain ranges are vast uplands of forest and bog, but easy to explore either by car or on foot. Ballymacarbry on the River Nier is also a good base for walking.
Carrick-on-Suir, a thriving market town east of Clonmel is today best known for Sean Kelly the cyclist who had noted success in the Tour de France. Ormond Castle, just outside the town, is a fortified Elizabethan mansion and well worth visiting.