Heritage
Heritage hunters will delight in Ardmore with its ancient history, ruins and round tower. Much older than the tower is St Declan's Well- used to baptise the pagan locals by early Christian missionaries, the well became famous for the healing properties of its waters. That fame still draws pilgrims and distracts those setting out on the Cliff Walk.
King John’s Castle, Dungarvan is an Anglo Norman keep housing a restored 18th century military barracks. King John’s is open to the public during the summer months with an informative exhibition to explain its eventful past. Living history re-enactments are held at the castle throughout the year particularly for events such as Heritage Week and the Waterford Festival of Food.
St Mary's Church, Dungarvan is a place of worship that has served, among other things, as a stable and a prison in its past. These days it is more likely to double as a recital venue and a vistor attraction. Its churchyard is home to many old graves including a memorial to the Moresby shipwreck of 1895. Learn more of St Mary's history here courtesy of Waterford County Museum.
The County Museum is the perfect place to brush up on your history and heritage, opening its archives, artefacts and vast local knowledge to the public Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.
The imposing Mount Melleray Abbey is a fully functioning monastery of Trappist monks in the Knockmealdown Mountains above Cappoquin that welcomes you and invites you to take time for quiet contemplation. Visitor facilities include a Heritage Centre, The Cloisters Tearooms and the Repository Book Shop.
Across the Knockmealdowns where Waterford meets Tipperary the views from Vee Gap await as does Baylough, the corrie lake supposed to be the final resting place of the witch Petticoats Loose.
Lismore Heritage Centre is the perfect place to discover the monks and Vikings, Norman princes and Hollywood stars that populate the pretty town's long and eventful past. Watch a short film to brush up on your history or take a tour with one of the centre's guides.
Pay St Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore a visit to appreciate its quiet, austere beauty . Pick up an information leaflet, or call to the Heritage Centre, to learn its history stretching back to the monastic foundation of the Lismore by the eponymous St Carthage. Note the cathedral features including an Edward Byrne Jones stained glass window, Richard Morrison ceiling and the ornately carved 15th century McGrath tomb.
Outside Lismore on the Ballyduff Road (R666) visitors will delight in exploring The Towers, a short circular woodland walk with a would-be murderous history to go with its Famine era folly.
More ruins with chilling tales attached await visitors in the east of the county where Dunhill Castle has been going to rack and ruin on its hilltop perch for a few hundred years . Dunhill was built by the la Poer family, a rather bloodthirsty lot who ended up hanged for their exploits.
