Ardfinnan

Above the bridge at Ardfinnan, in the foreground the old mills
and Ardfinnan Castle in the background

Ardfinnan derived its name from St. Fíonán the leper. In English it means St. Fíonán's height. A monastery was founded here in the 7th Century but no trace of it remains. It was destroyed in 1178 by the English Forces.

The bridge is famous for its span of fifteen arches. The Castle is attributed to King John circa 1186. Soon after completion it was taken by Donald More O'Brien. In later times it belonged to the Knights Templar and then the Bishop of Waterford. During the 17th Century General Ireton under Cromwell placed his cannon on a neighbouring hill and took the Castle by assault, up to then it was considered impregnable. It then passed into private hands. Two of the later square towers on the curtain wall are intact.

The mill was owned by Mulcahy Redmond and Company, it was established in 1869 and produced and marketed tweeds, serges, friezes, blankets, flannells, shawls and rugs. About one hundred people were employed by the firm.

Lady's Abbey Ardfinnan

Lady's Abbey was a Carmelite Friary and the church is a 14th / 15th Century building with a later South Transept. There remains some ornate stone carvings, one is that of a man with interwoven beard and hair, intricately done.

The other is that of a person with a melancholy expression, and what seems to be a Tudor Rose.