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CARLOW COURTHOUSE
 Carlow
Courthouse is located at the end of Dublin Street. It
is considered to be one of the finest courthouses in the
country and was designed by William Vitruvius Morrison
in 1830 and completed in1834. Fronted by cast iron railings
and built of Carlow granite, the Court House gives the
impression of being a temple set on a high plinth, but
this obscures the fact that the basement is a maze of
cells and dungeons. A cannon from the Crimean War stands
on the steps.
Address: Dublin Street, Carlow |
ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE
 St.
Patrick’s College, opened in 1793, was the first
post-penal Catholic seminary constructed in Ireland. Like
many other institutions of the eighteenth century, it
is built in the form of a large country house. The lodge
and gates are particularly attractive. It claims to be
the longest seminary in continuous use worldwide. |
CARLOW CATHEDRAL
 The
Cathedral started in 1828 and completed in 1833. It is
gothic in design. Thomas Cobden was the main architect.
the magnificent tower and lantern, reaching 46 metres,
was inspired by the cloth Hall at Burges in Belgium. The
Cathedral was the brain-child of the energetic Bishop
of Kildare and Leighlin, James Doyle - J.K.L., the prominent
champion of Catholic emancipation. It is a monument to
the unflinching faith and courage of J.K.L. who died the
year after the Cathedral was opened and who lies interred
in its walls. A sculptor in memorial to bishop James Doyle
was finished in 1839. John Hogan was the sculptor. In
the statue the Bishop is seen appealing to heaven for
the regeneration of his country. Erin is on one knee,
her body bent, is beautiful and dignified yet melancholy.
Address:College Street, Carlow |
 THE
LIBERTY TREE
The Liberty Tree in Carlow commemorates the 1798 Rising
of the United Irishmen. There were several hundred rebels
slain in Carlow town and their remains are buried in the
'Croppies Grave', in Graiguecullen. The Liberty Tree was
designed by John Behan who has skilfully created a
fine memorial and an ambience round which people gather
to relax in the Summer months. |
ST. MARY'S CHURCH
St. Mary’s Church of Ireland. This church dates from
1727, though the tower and spire, reaching 195 feet were
added in 1834. The interior retains its traditional galleries.
There are also several monuments including ones by Sir
Richard Morrison, the important neo-classical architect.
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 CARLOW
CASTLE
This great keep was formerly one of the most impressive
Norman castles in Ireland. Only the western wall and two
towers now survive, the remainder having been accidentally
blown up in 1814 by "a ninny-pated physician of the
name of Middleton" who leased the building for use
as a lunatic asylum. He applied blasts of gunpowder for
enlarging the windows and diminishing the walls, and brought
down two-thirds of the pile into a rubbishy tumulus in
memory of his surpassing presumption and folly. The original
keep was a three-storey rectangular block with cylindrical
corner towers, probably built between 1207 and 1213 by
William Marshall on the site of a mote erected by Hugh
de Lacy in the 1180s. It may be the earliest example of
a "four-towered" keep in the British Isles and
appears to have been directly inspired by French examples;
notably Nemours (Seine-et-Marne) built between 1160 and
1180. The entrance lies at first-floor level in the north
wall and access to all storeys, which had timber floors,
was by way of stone stairways in the thickness of the
west wall. Ownership of the castle passed to the Crown
in 1306 and was later granted to the Earls of Norfolk,
who held it until confiscation in 1537. James FitzGerald
captured it in 1494, again by Silken Thomas in 1535, and
changed hands a number of times before being purchased
by Donough, Earl of Thomond in 1616. It fell to the Confederates
in 1642 but was later returned to Thomond after being
liberated by Ireton in 1650. It is located on the Banks
of the River Barrow near Carlow town centre. |
GRAIGUECULLEN BRIDGE
 Graiguecullen
bridge is one of the oldest and lowest bridges on the
River Barrow. An attractive five arched stone structure,
this bridge was built in 1569 and widened in 1815. A short
walk down the west side of the Barrow brings you to the
lock gates. |
ST. CLARE'S CHURCH
 St.
Clare’s Roman Catholic Church, Graiguecullen, built
in 1852 by John Derrick, was dismantled at its original
site on the Athy road and re-erected on its present Killeshin
road site Continue north and turn into Chapel Street. |
 THE
CROPPIES GRAVE
The Croppies Grave. A handsome monument rises above the
site of an old sand pit where in the aftermath of the
disastrous rising of the United Irishmen in 1798, the
bodies of 640 slaughtered Carlow insurgents were thrown
and covered with quick lime in a mass grave. The Croppies
was the name given to the United Irishmen after the habit
of cropping their hair to mark their allegiance. The monument
stands as testimony to those who gave their lives to further
the cause of freedom from a harsh regime.
Address: Chapel St, Carlow Town |
 CARLOW
TOWN HALL
On the north side of the Haymarket is the Town Hall designed
by the Church architect William Hague in 1884. The Haymarket
was the trading centre for Carlow. A number of markets
dotted around the town - the Potato Market and Butter
Market, for example, indicate the strong agricultural
focus of the town |
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BROWNSHILL DOLMEN
 Brownshill
dolmen is a megalithic tomb 3km from Carlow town on
the south of the R726. There is a car park and a short
walk is necessary along a path following the side of
the field which lies between the dolmen and the road.
Its date of construction has been estimated at between
4,900 and 5,500 years ago. At 100 metric tons, its cap
stone is the largest in Europe. In popular folklore,
dolmens were the tables or graves of giants, or druids'
altars, or entrances to the Underworld of the Tuatha
De Danann.
Address: Rathvilly Road, Carlow, County Carlow
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CARLOW COUNTY MUSEUM
Carlow Town Council & Carlow County Council in association
with the Carlow Historical & Archaeological Society
are upgrading and improving Carlow County Museum. This
includes the development of a new museum premises on College
Street adjoining the Tourist Office in Carlow Town.
Therefore to facilitiate these improvement works the
museum bill be closed until further notice.
Address: Carlow Town Council, Town Hall, Carlow
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 CARLOW
COUNTY MILITARY MUSEUM
County Carlow Military Museum, Old Church, St. Dympna's,
Athy Road, Carlow
Tel: + 353 (0) 87 2850509
Email: military.museum@ireland.com
A fine museum exhibition housed in a late 19th century
church. The museum features a wide range of exhibits relating
to Carlow military history including the 10th Infantry
battalion, Irish UN Peacekeeping in Congo, Lebanon and
Somalia, Carlow Militia, Carlow in the Great War and an
exhibition of Captain Myles Keogh of the 7th Cavalry killed
with General Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. |
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