The Butler Trail of CAHIR AUDIO GUIDE APP M8 Welcome to o Cashel T Go Caiseal R670 CAHIRAB B EY S T . SR. NA 6 M L L AIN E AI R I P I Ú STR I S A N E AC N N I H A H SR AN TEAM B A L 7 . T o Clonmel S R640 T S AN MEA Go Cluain Meala R H E R . C L C N L A R A AIRI C U M A RIVER SUI H BE I S E C L E G E H M8 R Á Ó T 5 N A SR.NA N U R Q 4 A . S E T 1 H C E R670 2 C K S A H T S Go T TL 3 E S o Swiss Cottage T. T C N CAHIR A TOURIST OFFICE eachín Eilvéisigh 1. Cahir Castle PUBLIC BARRA CAR PARK 2. Tourist Information Centre and Castle Street INCH 3. Cahir House Hotel FIELD 4. The Fountain 5. Statue and Bianconi 6. St Paul’s Church 7. Walk back along river T R670 o Swiss Cottage Go T 8. Swiss Cottage eachín Eilvéisigh 8 Audio Guide Tour M8 For over 650 years, the Butlers were the most powerful and influential family in Cahir. They built much of its architecture and brought water, employment and a glorious church to the town. Download the Butler Trail o Cashel T audio guide app to hearGo Caiseal stories of the wars, philanthropy, bankruptcyR670 and industry that helped to shape modern Cahir. Then continue the Butler Trails through the AB nearby towns of Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir. B EY S T . SR. NA 6 M L L AIN E AI R I P I Ú STR I S A N E AC N N I H A H SR AN TEAM B A L 7 . T o Clonmel S R640 T S AN MEA Go Cluain Meala R H E R . C L C N L A R A AIRI C U M A RIVER SUI H BE I S E C L E G E H M8 R Á Ó T 5 N A SR.NA N U R Q 4 A . S E T 1 H C E R670 2 C K S A H T S Go T TL 3 E S o Swiss Cottage T. T C N CAHIR A eachín Eilvéisigh PUBLIC TOURIST OFFICE BARRA CAR PARK INCH FIELD T R670 o Swiss Cottage Go T eachín Eilvéisigh 8 1. CAHIR CASTLE Cahir Castle is one of the largest and best preserved castles in Ireland and it became the stronghold of the powerful Anglo-Norman Butler family in 1375. It remained in their possession until 1961. In the intervening 600 years, the Butlers defended this region from attack and they brought jobs, industry and great architecture to Cahir, as well as to the nearby Butler towns of Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir. 5. STATUE & BIANCONI A wonderfully life-like statue in the town square commemorates the blind piper, Edward Keating Hyland, one of Cahir’s most famous musical sons. In 1821, Hyland played his best-known composition, ‘Fox Chase’ for King George IV in Dublin. The photograph (left) shows Charles Bianconi. In 1815, he revolutionised public transport in Ireland when he introduced the first regular horse-drawn carriage service between Clonmel and Cahir. 2. TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE & CASTLE STREET As you walk along Castle Street, you’ll pass a well- maintained War Memorial, which is quite an unusual sight in Irish towns. It was erected to the memory of 88 local officers and men who died in the Great War of 1914 to 1918. The nearby Fáilte Ireland tourist office is open during the summer months. Its helpful staff can advise you on places to go, things to do, where to stay and local events in Ireland’s Ancient East. The elegant terrace houses on either side of Castle Street were built by the Butlers. 6. ST PAUL’S CHURCH A very beautiful building, in an equally stunning setting, St Paul’s Church, the Anglican parish church of Cahir, sits above the banks of the river Suir. The church owes its existence to Richard Butler, Earl of Glengall, which explains why the only tomb in the church yard is that of the Butler family. 3. CAHIR HOUSE HOTEL Just as Cahir Castle was once a stronghold of the Butler dynasty, from the 1770s onwards, Cahir House was the ancestral home of the Butlers of Cahir. It held this role until 1853 when Richard Butler, the second Earl of Glengall was head of the Cahir Butlers Richard was something of an architectural visionary. Between 1840 and 1846 he undertook an extensive building programme in the town. Unfortunately, he was not a gifted businessman and eventually went bankrupt. 7. WALK BACK ALONG RIVER Walking back towards the Square, just beside the pavement, you will see a fine dressed-stone building, called The Granary. It is another legacy from the Butler era, but one whose existence is credited to a female Butler, Emily, the Dowager Lady Glengall. Built in 1809 as a linen factory, it now is home to a regional craft centre, one of four in Ireland. Call in for a browse around. 4. THE FOUNTAIN Fresh water supply wasn’t always so readily available and certainly, in the 19th century, most homes in rural Ireland didn’t have running water. So it must have been a delight to the townsfolk of Cahir when in 1876, Lady Margaret Butler-Charteris erected this limestone fountain in the centre of the square. It meant they could enjoy fresh, clean water, piped all the way from the Galtee Mountains. 8. SWISS COTTAGE A stroll along the River Suir is the perfect end to the Butler Trail in Cahir. It will bring you to Swiss Cottage, possibly the high point of the entire trail. Built by Richard Butler, the 12th Lord Cahir, Swiss Cottage is Ireland’s most elegant cottage, and, arguably, one of the most romantic to be found anywhere in the world. Climb the stone steps and spend an hour visiting this delightful elevated site. Belfast M1 120 min M3 Kilkenny 8 Butler Sites Galway M4 Dublin M6 M50 Playground M7 70 min M9 Time to take it all in R697 To Dublin N76 M7 Shannon Fishing 50 min Kilkenny i Dundrum M8 Limerick 9 Callan 20 min Mullinahone M9 Wexford Gardens K 10 To Limerick M8 Waterford Rosslare Port Cashel i Town Heritage Walk i R692 Knocktopher 7 Cork J10 Tipperary N74 R692 A Golfing Emly 12 R701 Fethard i Visitor information L D B i C J N24 J10 SLIEVENAMON Other Heritage Sites i R689 R697 Glen of Aherlow 4 G R696 i F Walled Town Cahir 6 i i 5 Kilsheelan 2 N24 Clonmel Carrick-on-Suir GALTEE MOUNTAINS H M 3 ROADS, ROUTES & TRAILS E Suir Blue Way 1 erS uir N24 M9 Butler Trail Riv I Links to Butler Trail To Cork M8 Roads R678 Ardfinnan 11 N24 East Munster Way Rathgormack 1 7 Tipperary Heritage Way R680 1 7 2 Clogheen8 COMERAGH MOUNTAINSA G Suir Blueway1 - Walking 7 2 8 A A G G 2 8 A G Suir Blueway2 - Kayaking 8 3 KNOCKMEALDOWN9 B B H H B 3 9 MOUNTAINS To DungarvanH N25 Waterford City 3 9 4 10 C C I I I 1 107 C J BUTLER SITES 4 1Cahir Castle 107 5Athassel Abbey 11 Granagh Castle PLACES OF INTERESTA D Fethard Horse D G SensoryJ & J Glen of Aherlow J 1 7 5 2 118 A A D CountryG Experience G Mobility Garden K 1 Ormond Castle7 5 2Swiss Cottage11 8 6Kilkenny Castle 12 Fethard Knockroe Tomb B E E H K K Rock of Cashel B K 2 Kilcash Castle 8 6 3Cahir House 12 9 Callan Friary B Ahenny High CrossesB E MarlfieldH Village Trail H GlengarraL Woods L Fethard Medieval Walls 6 3 12 9 C F F I L L 3 The Main Guard9 Hotel 10 Kells Priory C Kilkieran High CrossesC F The IApple Farm I Mitchelstown Caves M Tipperary Co. Museum 3 9 4 10 C D J J 4 10 11 D D J J 4 10 5 11 D E K K K 5 11 6 12 E E K K 5 11 6 12 E F L L L 6 12 F F L.