Cahir (Irish: an Chathair / Cathair Dhún Iascaigh) is a town in South Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Iffa and Offa West. For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the Dublin to CorkN8, and the Limerick to WaterfordN24. The N8 was realigned in 1991 to run west of the town, while the old road through it was renumbered the R670. Traffic from the N24 still left the town badly congested, however, until October 2007 when this road was also realigned to bypass Cahir to the north and east.
For much of its history, the town has been influenced by the Butler family. It was from this family that the first Barons of Cahir were created. It was known for much of its history as being a defence town (Siege of Cahir Castle). It was one of the first towns to be linked by stagecoach in the nineteenth century when Charles Bianconi commenced services between Clonmel, Cahir and Cashel. The building at The Square, where The Galtee Inn is now sited, was the stopping point in the town for Bianconi’s coaches.
Cahir Castle, which is situated on a small island in the River Suir, is the town’s main tourist attraction. Cahir has a fine Church of Ireland parish church, still in use, designed by John Nash, one of only three ecclesiastical buildings he designed in Ireland. Another major attraction is the Swiss Cottage along with numerous specialty heritage walks. The nearby Galtee Mountains form the largest inland range in Ireland and are home to Glengarra Wood, which is a popular walking area. The Knockmealdown Mountains stand south of the town, while to the southwest lie the Mitchelstown Caves. The salmon weir, on the opposite side of the bridge from the castle, is a popular location to fish.
Cahir is a small heritage town. A shopping precinct is centred around the town square adjacent to Castle Street. The town has a leisure centre (Duneske), an all-weather soccer pitch, all weather tennis courts, a Downhill mountain-biking track and a GAA pitch. An 18 hole Golf course lies a few kilometres outside the town.
[caption id="attachment_7237" align="aligncenter" width="590"] Painting 'Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo'. Series 'Views of St Petersburg and Moscow' by Alexey Maksimovich Gornostaev, produced as a gift to Queen Victoria on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of her reign.[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Alexander Palace (Russian: Александровский дворец) is a former imperial residence at Tsarskoye Selo, on a plateau around 30 minutes by train from St Petersburg. It is known as the favourite residence of th...