Nenagh

Nenagh derives its name from Aonach Urmhumhan meaning fair of Ormonde. It is the chief town of North Tipperary. Situated in a fertile plain surrounded by the Silvermine and Arra mountains. Nenagh castle is one of the finest of its kind in Ireland, it was built by Theobald FitzWalter one of the ancestors of the Butlers' of Ormonde, in 1200. It is a hundred feet high and at its base 53 feet across. In 1860 the top portion was reconstructed. The Parish church of St. Marys' of the rosary is a large Gothic revival building. Opposite is Nenagh Heritage Centre which contains a display of antiquities in the heptagonal Governors house. One can also see the Gate House of the former Gaol. In Abbey street are the remains of a Franciscan Friary founded in 1250 by Bishop Donal O'Kennedy of Killaloe. It was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell.