Understand
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By the 19th century, people had more leisure time, disposable income and transport. Various ball games were played, but the rules were haphazard (could you pick up the ball, or not? Grab your opponent by the throat, or not?) and some games were little better than mass brawls between entire villages. Soccer and rugby then became codified and developed sporting structures, but Gaelic football and hurling were slow off the mark — they remained strong in Tipperary and Limerick but were losing support elsewhere. Only in 1887 was the Gaelic Athletic Association founded, at Hayes Hotel in Thurles.
From the outset the GAA wrapped itself in the Irish flag, making out that rival games were unpatriotic, the "garrison games" of the British oppressor. That was a cockamamie version of history: English gentry had long supported Gaelic games, because watching their Irish tenantry knock lumps out of each other was something they could enjoy all day, while placing wagers on the outcome. GAA Rule 27 banned members from taking part in or watching non-Gaelic games: in 1938 they even expelled the President of Ireland for watching an Ireland v Poland soccer match. But as usual the British had exacerbated the hostility. On "Bloody Sunday" in 1920 a police and Black and Tan paramilitary force came to Croke Park in Dublin at the start of a Gaelic football match and began shooting into the crowd: 14 were killed and 60-70 injured. Not until 2001 did GAA abolish Rule 21, which banned members of the British forces, and Rule 42 still stands: that GAA grounds may not be used for competing sports. (A waiver allowed Ireland to play a rugby international at Croke Park in 2007.) Where the GAA has succeeded, beyond the dreams of rugby's Corinthian purists, is in keeping the game amateur and local. Even the "big names" of the sport are hardly known beyond Ireland, and you are never going to walk down a street in Istanbul or Kuala Lumpur and see the young men got up in Corofin GAC jerseys.
Get in
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M8 passes 5 km east of town, so Dublin and Cork are within a 90-minute drive, and Limerick is less than an hour.
Trains run hourly from Dublin Heuston via Kildare, Portlaoise, Ballybrophy (for Roscrea and Nenagh) and Templemore, taking 75 min to Thurles. They continue south via Limerick Junction (for Limerick city, Tipperary, Clonmel and Waterford), Mallow (for Killarney and Tralee) and Cork.
1 Thurles railway station is 500 m west of town centre.
Long-distances buses scoot past on the motorway and don't stop in Thurles.
Local Link Bus 391 runs from Limerick three times a day, taking 1 hr 45 min via Castletroy (for the University), Newport, Kilcommon Cross and Ballycahill.
BK Bus 394 runs twice M-Sa from Clonmel via Cashel and Holycross (for the abbey).
Bus 397 runs once M-Sa from Nenagh around 11AM, taking an hour to Thurles and setting off back around 4:30PM.
Local Link Bus 858 runs three times a day from Portlaoise, taking 80 min via Abbeyleix, Durrow, Johnstown and Urlingford.
Bus 812 runs twice M-Sa between Roscrea, Templemore, Thurles and Urlingford.
Buses in Thurles stop on Liberty Square, there isn't a bus station.
Get around
[edit]The town is compact but you need wheels to reach Holycross and other outlying places.
The taxi firm in town is Eire Taxi (+353 89 460 0533).
See
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- Liberty Square is the centre of town, with well-preserved 19th-century low-rise buildings. Pity about the traffic.
- 1 Lár na Páirce Museum, Slievenamon Road E41 C6W8, ☏ +353 504 27534. Tu-Sa 11AM-4PM. Displaying memorabilia of the GAA and Gaelic games, but it's chiefly a merchandising outlet for club colours. It also houses the Tourist Information Centre. Adult €5, child €3, conc €4.
- 2 Cathedral of the Assumption, Thurles Townparks E41 A528, ☏ +353 50 422505. The original cathedral of the diocese was on the Rock of Cashel, but that was grabbed by the Protestants at the Reformation. As elsewhere, the Catholics weren't allowed to build their own churches until the Penal Laws were relaxed. This Italianate Romanesque cathedral was built over earlier chapels and completed in 1879, with an impressive rose window and baptistry, and white marble altar. The high-domed tabernacle is by Giacomo della Porta, a pupil of Michelangelo; it came from the Gesu Church in Rome. The cathedral's eight bells can be dinged by hammer but not change-rung, for fear of bringing the campanile crashing down. Free.
- 3 St Mary's, Ikerrin Rd. St Mary's is a "First Fruits" church built in 1825 over a Norman ruin — see County Tipperary for more on this initiative to build more Protestant churches in Ireland. It remains in occasional use as a Church of Ireland church and its ground floor has a small museum about the Great Famine. A "Sheila na Gig" from elsewhere in town is also here. The church is seldom open.
- 4 Farney Castle, Farneybridge E41 NY04, ☏ +353 504 43281. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM. The round tower was built in 1495, the rest is a modern mock-castle mansion. Much of the place is now artisan shops selling their own porcelain and knitwear. Castle tours are available.
- 5 Cormackstown Heritage Centre, Beakstown, ☏ +353 85 713 1584. Small museum of Irish country life.
- 6 Holy Cross Abbey, Holycross. Impressive abbey founded for the Benedictines in 1168 but affiliated to the Cistercians from 1182 and extended 1400-1450. Much of what you see now is a 20th-century reconstruction of the abbey church, which in 1975 became the Roman Catholic parish church. It's long been a pilgrimage site, as it claims to hold fragments of the "True Cross." The first was probably bestowed by the King of Limerick at the 1182 Cistercian launch; his family had received it from Pope Pascal II. (Other accounts credit Queen Isabella, widow of King John, in 1233, but by then she was out of favour and busted to being a mere Countess.) In the 15th century the fragment was set in the silver Ormond Reliquary. The abbey was ruined at the Reformation but the relic remained, and continued to draw pilgrims; it was a money-spinner for the village. At the 1975 re-opening, the Vatican provided a second fragment, set in a golden Cross of Jerusalem. This was stolen in 2011 but the police recovered it; perhaps it was too recognisable to be sold, and no arrests were made. The abbey is in a picturesque village with a medieval river bridge. Free.
- 7 Loughmore is a scenic village 10 km north of Thurles. It's more correctly "Loughmoe" or Luach Maigh. The main sight is the ruined castle, a 13th-century tower house, seat of the Purcells. In the village graveyard is a mausoleum to the Cormack brothers, publicly hanged in 1858 for the murder of a cruel land agent; they protested their innocence to the last. In 1910 their bodies were exhumed from Nenagh jail and brought in grand procession to be reburied here.
- 8 Famine Warhouse 1848, Farranrory Upper E41 XK23, ☏ +353 87 908 9972. Apr-Sep W-Su 2:30-5:30PM, Oct-Mar Sa Su 2-4PM. 1848 saw rebellions all across Europe, and in the aftermath of the Great Famine, the Young Irelander Rebellion was staged here. A contingent of 47 police approached the flag-waving rebels, but found themselves outnumbered and bolted into this farmhouse, within which were five children. A stand-off turned into a shoot-out, "The Battle of Widow McCormack's cabbage plot". Two rebels were fatally shot but the police were sheltered, and when their reinforcements came, the rebels fled. Several were convicted and transported to Bermuda; others escaped to France or the US. Free.
Do
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- IMC Cinema is in the shopping centre.
- Thurles Leisure Centre on Cathedral St has pool, gym and fitness classes.
- Source Arts Centre on Cathedral St E41 A4E8 has music, comedy, shows and art exhibitions.
- 1 Semple Stadium hosts games of Hurling and Gaelic Football for Tipperary GAA and for Munster, and has hosted music events. With a capacity of 45,700, as a GAA venue it's second in size only to Croke Park in Dublin.
- The Dome is an events venue north side of Semple Stadium.
- 2 Thurles Greyhound Stadium, Townspark E41 YE09, ☏ +353 504 21003. Racing every Saturday from 7:30PM.
- 3 Thurles Racecourse, ☏ +353 87 755 8882. This track has National Hunt (jumps) races Nov-March. It's an oval right-handed, 2 km circuit with 6 flights of hurdles and 7 steeplechase fences then a steep uphill finish; and races make two circuits. On race days there's a free minibus shuttle from the railway station.
- 4 Thurles Golf Club, Turtulla Bridge E41 NX93, ☏ +353 504 21983. Blue tees 6663 yards, par 72. 18 holes €35.
- Horse riding can be arranged at several stables. The nearest is Tipperary Equestrian Centre on Mill Rd 1 km southeast of town.
- 5 The Devil's Bit is a peak of 478 m (1570 ft) west of Templemore, and roughly equidistant from Roscrea, Thurles and Nenagh. It's usually climbed on its south side from the car park on R501. The legend goes that the devil took a bite out of it, broke his teeth, and spat out the lump which landed as the Rock of Cashel. The tower near the summit is a 19th-century Folly. The large cross on the summit was erected in 1953/54.
Buy
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- The shopping centre is on the main road 500 m south of Liberty Square.
- Lidl is just south of the shopping centre, open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 9AM-6PM.
- Farmers Market is Saturday 9:30AM-1PM outside the greyhound track.
Eat
[edit]Eating places are in Liberty Square and adjoining streets, and include The Granary, Stars of India, Ranna Ghor, Kambo, Le P'tit Cafe, Qian Kee, Yang's, Ryan's Daughter and Yi Thai.
Drink
[edit]- Central are County Bar, Skehan's, Bar, Millea's, Brennan's and Noel Ryan's.
- West of centre find Mackey's; south are Larry's and Glasheens.
- East of the river are De Búrca’s, Hickey's, The Coachyard, Monks (aka O'Gorman's) and Kennedy's.
Sleep
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- Hayes Hotel, Liberty Square E41 C9C8, ☏ +44 504 22122. In Nov 1884 the GAA was founded in this town-centre hotel. It's a modern comfy mid-range place. B&B double €120.
- 1 Anner Hotel, Dublin Rd E41 X789, ☏ +353 504 21799. Friendly, well-run, mid-range hotel with a pool and fitness centre. B&B double €140.
- Ryan's Daughter is a restaurant and four-room B&B on Rossa St just north of Liberty Square.
- 2 Hawthorn View, Knockroe E41 R268, ☏ +353 504 21710. Pleasant B&B on the main road south. B&B double €120.
- Inch House 10 km west of town is no longer a hotel, but available for exclusive hire for events such as weddings, sleeps 20.
Connect
[edit]As of April 2025, Thurles and its approach roads have 5G from all Irish carriers.
Go next
[edit]- Cashel 22 km south is a must-see for the Rock and nearby religious sites.
- Kilkenny 30 km east is one of Ireland's best preserved medieval towns.
- Waterford has a rich Viking, medieval and Georgian heritage on display in its museums.