Things to do in Clonmel
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Clonmel
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, long light, full OPW season open, Blueway dry and the Comeraghs most walkable.
Junction Festival month, warmest weather and the hardest month to find a bed.
Good shoulder months with quieter sights and a real chance of Atlantic weather.
Worst months, short days, highest flood risk and seasonal closures at OPW sites.
What's on
- Clonmel Junction Arts Festival first week of July
Ten days of theatre, dance, music and comedy across the town, running since 2001.
- Clonmel Busking Festival second weekend of August
Free street music by day and pub gigs by night, run by volunteers for charity.
- Clonmel Applefest late September
A harvest festival of food, heritage and nature celebrating the town's orchard story.
- Clonmel Oil Chase November
The Grade 2 steeplechase at Powerstown Park, the local racing peak of the year.
- Culture Night a Friday in mid to late September
Venues across town open late and free for one night.
Best things to do in Clonmel
St. Patrick's Well
A crystal clear holy spring with an ancient stone cross on an island, the most peaceful and loved place near Clonmel.
Tipperary Museum of Hidden History
A free county museum with 25000 artefacts and hands on displays, the best first stop for understanding Tipperary.
The Main Guard
Clonmel's emblem, a Palladian former courthouse from the 1670s whose arcade anchors the top of O'Connell Street.
Old St. Mary's Church
A fortified medieval church with an 84 foot bell tower, built to double as a fortress in troubled times.
South Tipperary Arts Centre
The town's living arts room, with rotating exhibitions and workshops and a hub role in festival weeks.
Ormond Castle
Ireland's finest Elizabethan manor house on the Suir, with guided tours of the Long Gallery and attic.
Cahir Castle
One of Ireland's largest and best preserved castles, a Butler stronghold on a rock in the River Suir.
Swiss Cottage
A storybook thatched cottage orne by the Suir, all tree trunk pillars and deliberate rusticity, seen by guided tour.
Where to stay in Clonmel
Town Centre
walk everywhere base without a car
Restaurants, pubs, the museum and the stations are all within five minutes on foot from here.
Coleville Road
quiet riverside resort feel for drivers
A leafy riverside strip five minutes east of the centre, home to the town's flagship hotel.
Raheen Road
the calmest night's sleep in town
A quiet residential road south of the river with gardens rather than street life outside the door.
Poppyfield
families, groups and touring by car
Free parking and shops next door at the retail park edge, five minutes by car from the centre.
Best restaurants in Clonmel
Central House Dining Room
The most ambitious cooking in Clonmel, charcoal finished Irish meats in a small art deco dining room.
Bodega 1830
Tapas, sharing plates and cocktails in a historic mill, the most contemporary dining room in town.
Befani's Restaurant & Townhouse
A long running Mediterranean restaurant with an Irish accent and a garden, the safest dinner in the centre.
Sean Tierney's Bar and Restaurant
Clonmel's front parlour, a traditional bar and restaurant for proper lunches, dinners and trad sessions.
Mulcahy's
A big bar and restaurant known for its carvery and value, the group workhorse that can feed twelve well.
Emperor
The town's established Chinese restaurant, generous portions and a front of house locals name with affection.
Hickeys Bakery
A fourth generation bakery under the West Gate, famous for barm brack and now for sourdough too.
Niamhs Restaurant and Delicatessen
The cafe deli Clonmel runs on at lunch, with sandwiches, specials and a room full of regulars.
Outdoor things to do in Clonmel
Suir Blueway
A flat 21 km riverside walking and cycling trail from Clonmel to Carrick-on-Suir past Kilsheelan village.
Suir Blueway Tipperary
A 53 km waymarked paddling trail on the Suir from Cahir through Clonmel to Carrick-on-Suir, taken in sections.
Coumshingaun Lough
Ireland's most dramatic corrie lake, a serious clockwise loop hike for fit walkers in clear weather only.
Mahon Falls
An 80 metre waterfall reached by a short flat path from a free car park, spectacular after rain.
Nire Valley
A glaciated valley of marked trails where local walkers go, from gentle strolls to the Coumduala Loop.
Carey's Castle
A romantic mock medieval ruin hidden in woodland by a stream, reached by a short forest walk.
Marlfield Lake
A flat lakeside amble with ducks, swans and picnic benches, the town's default Sunday walk.
Clonmel Golf Club
An 18 hole par 71 course founded in 1911 above the town, with views across the Suir Valley to Slievenamon.
Best hotels in Clonmel
Hotel Minella
Clonmel's flagship riverside hotel in an 1863 house, with a pool, outdoor hot tub and racing heritage.
Raheen House Hotel
A small antique filled country house in walled gardens, the calmest and best rated sleep in Clonmel.
Talbot Hotel Clonmel
A modern four star with pool, gym and free parking, the best equipped base for families and groups.
Befani's Restaurant & Townhouse
Rooms above one of the town's best loved restaurants, the foodie base a minute from the Main Guard.
McCarthy's Bed & Breakfast
A well kept town centre B&B with exceptionally accommodating hosts, the smart best value bed in Clonmel.
Hearns Hotel
A historic coaching hotel in the centre with the cheapest hotel bed in town, but set expectations to basic.
Is Clonmel expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €140 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Clonmel Racecourse: a few days ahead
- Suir Blueway Tipperary: a few days ahead
- Clonmel Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Slievenamon Golf Club: a few days ahead
- River Suir: weeks ahead
- Mount Juliet Estate: weeks ahead
- Hotel Minella: weeks ahead
- Raheen House Hotel: weeks ahead
- Bodega 1830 opens Thursday to Sunday only and Central House Tuesday to Saturday dinner only, both book out at weekends.
- Book beds early for Junction Festival week in July, Applefest in late September and the November Clonmel Oil Chase fixture.
- Check OPW seasonal schedules before going, winter closures and reduced hours are normal.
- Arrange guided fishing and Mount Juliet tee times weeks ahead in season.
Is Clonmel safe?
- The River Suir floods, Blueway sections close in spring and after heavy rain, check conditions locally.
- Coumshingaun and the Comeragh plateau are hazardous in mist, ice or high wind, carry proper kit.
- From the Poppyfield edge, drive or taxi into town after dark rather than walking the Cahir Road.
- Emergency number in Ireland is 112.
Clonmel travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- There is no public Bulmers factory tour in Clonmel, drink it in a pub instead.
- The Showgrounds Shopping Centre is an ordinary shopping centre, not a sight.
- Do not build a whole day around the county museum alone, it is a good hour.
- Avoid the Rock of Cashel at midday in summer when coach tours peak, go at opening instead.
Getting around Clonmel: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre, everything in town is within a 15 minute walk.
- Rent a car for the Comeraghs, Cahir, Cashel and Carrick-on-Suir, rural buses will not build a hiking day.
- Clonmel station has only a handful of trains a day, so never make rail the plan.
- Pre book taxis for race days and late returns, there is no app hailed fleet.
Who Clonmel suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Clonmel your trip
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