Day 10 Clonmel to Ballyrobin

 

Day 10.   Sunday Aug 23

Clonmel   to   Ballyrobin

Distance (km):  68

Cycling Time: (hrs:min)  3:42

Average Speed (km/hr)  18.4 

Total Ascent (m):   510

Average Heart Rate (bpm):   100

Cumulative Distance: 551

Cumulative Ascent:   2175

Punctures so far:  0

 

I started this morning in Clonmel, the largest town in Co Tipperary. Way back, the Suir was at its widest and shallowest at this point and thus a settlement started. And in 1388 a 'Bridge St' was mentioned in a document and also a bridge appears on the Clonmel coat of arms. 

At present there are 3 bridges in the town and I set out from the one furthest upstream originally known as Workhouse Bridge (the workhouse at St Lukes was the nearest building in 1815) but now referred to by all as Convent Bridge from the Presentation Convent and school nearby. Had a chat here with an angler, a gent fishing from the bridge for trout but more in hope than in expectation, in his own words.

I cycled on out the Dungarvan Road by road works (actually in Co Waterford) parallel to the Suir on my right hand side passing the Sandybanks, a very popular bathing place especially prior to the opening of the town pool in 1973. The new concrete steps and slipway are part of the Suir Blueway development.

After 6km I came to Knocklofty Bridge but didn’t cross over. Built in 1770 it is a 3 arched rubble/limestone construction and stands at a point where the Suir turns at right angles and now I’m heading due south for a distance of 8km.

My route took me over a steep rise and down into Kilmanahan to rejoin the Dungarvan Road. Had a few glimpses of the Suir beneath me till I turned right at Ballydonagh Crossroads and dropped towards the river.

Shortly after crossing the Nire river before it joins the Suir I had the pleasing experience of crossing back into Co Tipperary again and soon came to Newcastle.

In the Newcastle area Irish was widely spoken till the 1940 and held gaeltacht status till the 1950s. It is this area that features in the book 'An Gleann 's a raibh ann' by Seamus Ó Maolcathaigh and many Irish terms and expressions are still to be heard here eg. ag crústáil (throwing), ainniseoir, liúdar, spág, sop, etc.

Again here in Newcastle I came across another Access point to the Blueway. I followed the 500m nicely paved path leading down to a completed landing spot for canoeists following this 53km Blueway from Cahir down to Carrick on Suir. I was disgusted to see that some hooligan had interfered with the lifebuoy ring and thrown it into the reeds.

The Suir has very low-lying banks all along this stretch and even today parts of the adjacent fields showed standing water in the hollows. Across Newcastle Bridge and I followed the Suir upstream for another 8km to Ardfinnan. In the centre of Ardfinnan is a 13 arch bridge with a one-way system controlled by traffic lights since 2015 after serious structural issues were discovered

At the far side of the bridge is Ardfinnan Woolen Mills which was established in 1867 in an old corn mill and produced tweed till it closed in 1989. In addition to providing employment for 220 people at its busiest, it also supplied electricity for homes and street lighting before rural electrification.

High above is Ardfinnan Castle. The part most visible now was just built in the 1930s but behind and to the right is part of the original castle. It is unusually circular in design and some features of it are still in good condition. The castle is in private ownership but doesn’t seem to be well maintained.

All along today’s route there were reminders of the force of Storm Ellen of last Wednesday. Quite a few large trees flattened , parts of the smaller roads especially covered with the pulped remains of small leafed branches and chestnuts ripped off trees before their time.

Leaving Ardfinnan I lost sight of the Suir for some time till I came within a few kilometres of Cahir. here i discovered an overgrown pathway leading down to a popular walking path right along the river bank. the surface was in excellent condition and led me on to the steel bridge by the Swiss Cottage.

Due to Covid all pathways to the Swiss Cottage were closed off. I had hoped to walk around the outside at least. Since 1985 it is maintained by the OPW (Office of Public works) and after restoration was opened to the public in 1989. It was built by Richard Butler, 1^st earl of Glengal in 1810 as an idealised country cottage to host picnics and hunting parties for his guests. It has a T-shaped plan with 3 bays to the front and features parquet flooring and a timber spiral stairs.

A further 2 km on this path along by Cahir Golf Club bringing me out at Cahir Castle (also closed) providing some attraction with its show of swans. Cahir Castle is one of the largest in Ireland and stands on an island in the Suir. It was built in 1142 by Conor O Brien, Prince of Thomond but was granted to the Butler family in late 14^th century. In 1599 it was captured after a 3-day siege by the Earl of Essex. Since 1961 the castle is the property of the state.

An impressive weir is upstream from the main bridge and another 400m further up is the railway bridge. That was built in 1852 and is a steel edifice resting on 3 cut-limestone piers. In Oct 1955, a train transporting beet to Thurles crashed through the floor of the viaduct with the engine and 22 of the 32 wagons ending up in the river killing the driver and the fireman. And in 2003, 12 wagons of a train carrying cement from Limerick to Waterford crashed through the bridge into the river but no fatalities - the diesel engine had already crossed. After a €2.4 million upgrade it reopened in Sept 2004.

Before leaving Cahir I dropped down to the ruins of Cahir Abbey (The Abbey of Our Lady) founded in the 13^th century as an Augustinian establishment. The 70 ft central tower was was converted into a dwelling some time after the Reformation. Originally the outbuildings would have reached right down to the bank of the Suir.

After Cahir the Suir moves from a grain growing area into countryside more devoted to dairying and horses. South Tipperary is easily linked with some of the well-known international stables but there are many boutique stud farms such as this one in Ballydrehid right on the banks of the river.

Moving upstream my route took me to Ballycarron Bridge , an 8 arch construction built in 1800 with limestone cutwaters on the northern side and an exposed water pipe on the southern side.

In time as I approached Golden, Athassel Abbey (strictly speaking Athassel Priory) appeared on my right in a quiet serene area on the banks of the Suir. It was established in 12th century and was the largest medieval priory in Ireland and  a major urban centre which once had 2,000 occupants.

 

It burnt down in 1447 and while now in ruins, there are many intricately carved stones, and  the remains of the cloisters are free  to explore. Just upstream a weir was built to divert water into a canal to surround the foundation and the priory is still approached by crossin a bridge over this now-dry watercourse.

I had no great problem locating the bridge in Golden as I’m very much in home territory now. The long bridge (built in 1761) actually crosses two islands with the Suir dividing into three channels here. Golden (Gabhailín….little fork) refers to this forking in the river making it a suitable spot for crossing before the construction of bridges. A fortification protected this crossing at the time and still stands precariously on one of the islands.

Also by the castle stands a bust of Thomas McDonagh, one of the signatories of the Proclamation and Commander of the Jacobs Garrison in 1916. Though not from this part of Tipperary, he did go to school in nearby Rockwell College.

Just 2km above Golden I came to the point where the Suir (yellow) receives the contribution of the Multeen River (red) which flows in from the west. This is a popular angling spot for local fishermen but only fly-fishing allowed.

The Multeen is good for fisghing with brown trout (6-32cm) more common than salmon (5-14cm) according to a survey carried out in 2008. It rises in the Slieve Felim Mountains and flows down through Holyford and Annacarty.

After crossing over Ballygriffin Bridge (a protected structure) I was onto narrow by-roads right up to the bridge at Mogh where the Multeen is showing a greater volume of water than is usual for this time of year.

Pushing on I halted for a while at Morpeth / Aleen Bridge on the main road from Tipperary Town to Dundrum (The New Line).At this point I’m standing at 83m ASL the highest I've recorded on this entire trip. This is a single arch bridge built in 1835 but it was partly demolished during the War of Independence just one week before the Truce in July 1921. In fact it was blown up using the last of the gelignite captured in that ambush at Sologhead Quarry in Jan 1919, an event that triggered the same War of Independence.

A few more turns and finally that railway bridge at Ballyrobin appears ahead, the same bridge from which I set out on Day 1. here I went up on the railway tracks and once again looked at those two special spots – the Multeen healthily flowing directly beneath me and the Cuteen stream quietly beginning its journey just a field away.

 

So satisfying to have completed this circuit always following the water sometimes with the flow or against the flow or no flow at all. Hasn’t it been a long 700km journey just to cross a field !

 

Thank God for the health and thank God for the energy.

 NB.   I still have two sections , Banagher to Athlone Day 4) and Kilcock to Carlow (Days 7 and 8) to complete and these will be done once Covid restrictions are lifted in those counties.