Cahir An Chathair/Cathair Dún Iascaigh | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Castle Street | |
  Cahir Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:52°22′30″N7°55′30″W / 52.375°N 7.925°W /52.375; -7.925 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | Tipperary |
| Dáil Éireann | Tipperary |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 3,593 |
| Dialing code | 052 744, +000 353 (0)52 744 |
| Irish Grid Reference | S051252 |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 3,288 | — |
| 1831 | 3,408 | +3.6% |
| 1841 | 3,668 | +7.6% |
| 1851 | 3,694 | +0.7% |
| 1861 | 2,926 | −20.8% |
| 1871 | 2,694 | −7.9% |
| 1881 | 2,469 | −8.4% |
| 1891 | 2,046 | −17.1% |
| 1901 | 2,058 | +0.6% |
| 1911 | 1,930 | −6.2% |
| 1926 | 1,709 | −11.5% |
| 1936 | 1,638 | −4.2% |
| 1946 | 1,652 | +0.9% |
| 1951 | 1,589 | −3.8% |
| 1956 | 1,731 | +8.9% |
| 1961 | 1,662 | −4.0% |
| 1966 | 1,740 | +4.7% |
| 1971 | 1,747 | +0.4% |
| 1981 | 2,120 | +21.4% |
| 1986 | 2,118 | −0.1% |
| 1991 | 2,055 | −3.0% |
| 1996 | 2,236 | +8.8% |
| 2002 | 2,794 | +25.0% |
| 2006 | 3,381 | +21.0% |
| 2011 | 3,578 | +5.8% |
| 2016 | 3,593 | +0.4% |
| [1][2][3][4][5][6] | ||
Cahir (/ˈkɛər/;Irish:an Chathair / Cathair Dún Iascaigh)[7] is a town inCounty Tipperary inIreland. It is also a civil parish in thebarony ofIffa and Offa West.
For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: theDublin toCorkN8, and theLimerick toWaterfordN24. The N8 was realigned in 1991 to run west of the town, while the old road through it was renumbered theR670. Traffic from the N24 still left the town badly congested, however, until October 2007 when this road was also realigned to bypass Cahir to the north and east. The same road improvement scheme saw major changes to the N8 corridor: a new motorway, theM8, was constructed west of the town between 2006 and 2008. Access to Cahir from this motorway is gained at Junctions 10 and 11.
Cahir is on theLimerick–Waterford railway line. The town'srailway station opened on 1 May 1852.[8] There are two trains a day toTipperary andLimerick Junction and two toClonmel,Carrick on Suir andWaterford. There is no Sunday service.
Bus Éireann runs regular services to Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Waterford through the town.
The nameCathair oran Chathair translates as "stoneringfort", while the nameCathair Dún Iascaigh means "town of thefort of thefishery".[7] In older accounts, it was often spelled "Caher".Cahir Abbey was established in the late 12th century.
For much of its history, the town has been influenced by theButler family. It was from this family that the firstBarons of Cahir were created. It was known for much of its history as being a defence town.[9]
Cahir, together with Clonmel, were the centres in South Tipperary of the Quaker population, who constructed a meeting house in Abbey Street in 1833. The principal Quaker family names, largely engaged in milling, were Grubb, Going and Walpole.[10] It was one of the first towns to be linked bystagecoach in the nineteenth century, whenCharles Bianconi commenced services betweenClonmel, Cahir andCashel. The building at The Square, where The Galtee Inn is now sited, was the stopping point in the town for Bianconi's coaches.[citation needed]
Cahir Castle, which is situated on a small island in theRiver Suir, is one of the town's main tourist attractions.[11] Cahir has a fineChurch of Ireland parish church, still in use, designed byJohn Nash, one of only three ecclesiastical buildings he designed in Ireland. Another major attraction is theSwiss Cottage; there are also numerous specialty heritage walks. The nearbyGaltee Mountains form the largest inland range in Ireland and are home toGlengarra Wood,[12] which is a popular walking area. TheKnockmealdown Mountains stand south of the town, while to the southwest lie the Mitchelstown Caves. The salmon weir, on the opposite side of the bridge from the castle, is a popular fishing location.
Cahir is a smallheritage town. A shopping precinct is centred on the town square adjacent to Castle Street. The town has a leisure centre (Duneske), an all-weather soccer pitch, all-weather tennis courts, a Downhill and Enduro mountain-biking track and aGAA pitch. An 18-hole golf course lies outside the town.[13]
Schools in the town include Bunscoil na Cathrach (Primary School) and Coláiste Dún Iascaigh (Secondary School).[14] Our Lady of Mercy Primary School and Cahir Boys National School merged in 2022 to form Bunscoil na Cathrach.[15]
Cahir has a number of teams in various sports.Cahir GAA are the localGaelic team and play on the GAA pitch located on theArdfinnan road. They wereTipperary Senior Football Champions in 2003. Cahir Park AFC are the local junior soccer team. Formed in 1910, they are one of the oldest junior soccer teams in the country. Their ground is also located in Cahir Park on the Ardfinnan road.
Cahir has beentwinned with the town ofScarborough in England since 2003.[16][irrelevant citation]
