Blue Way of County Tipperary III

We have walked 11 kilometres and deserve a break. Today’s walk is only 1 km long. The season is Autumn.

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The Poulakerry Tower House is often called a castle, which is fine. There is no need to be over-specific when we speak about a 600 years old building that still stands and is lived in. You can also call it a keep.

The tower house was built by the Butler Fitzwilliams family to guard the crossing over the river, demand tolls, and who knows what else as they had a reputation of ‘robber barons’. During the Cromwellian invasion, the house was taken and its defenders killed. Majority of castles and keeps suffered from sieges and were left in ruins. Excellent location saved the Poulakerry tower house: it was repaired and used as a garrison. Over the centuries the house changed hands and was restored in the 1970s to become a family home.

The river makes an S-bend at the tower house. Peaceful fields lay on the north bank and the steep wooded slopes of the Comeragh Mountains rise on the south.

Robins here are fearless. You can stand pretty close with your camera and admire their Christmas Card cuteness.

Landscape House is another landmark. Built in the 1790-s as a part of the Mount Congreve Estate it was extended over the years. Somehow this property is associated with Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott, a British land agent, whose name became immortalized after he issued eviction orders to his tenants in Co Mayo. Nowadays evictions are not a novelty anymore, and no new words have been created… The Captain leased a farm in Tipperary, it is all I know. If I learn more about the ‘association’, I will update this post.

A legendary horse trainer and rider Phonsie (Alphonsus Septimus) O’Brian and his wife bought the house in the 1970’s after the sale of their Thomastown Castle property. You might also know their daughter’s company name – Lily O’Brien’s. Both the House and the chocolate & desserts company were sold in 2018.

This is the most beautiful stretch of the river.

The lower slopes of the Comeraghs adorned with yellow and red foliage.

Majestic Slievenamon stands on the opposite side of the river.

A couple of swans are glowing in the afternoon sun.

Not only the swans – myriads of mayflies are glowing like little lanterns (early September).

Another robin enjoying the warmth of sunlight.

The sun rolled behind the hill. Two egrets call it a day and depart for the trees.

Pied ( or Water) wagtail is a resident at the Poulaberry and Kilsheelan Bridge parts of the river.

We stop before the Garden and the bridge – more about these landmarks in my next blog post when we will walk to Gurteen de la Poer Castle you see under the bridge arch.

Thank you for reading and walking with me ❤

  Have a wonderful weekend!

121 comments

  1. I have no idea how I have missed these beautiful blogs my friend. Going away to unfollow then follow you again. even allowing for the fact we were away for a few days, I should have had them. They are lovely. A real visual treat. I only saw them because Zoolon had retweeted one and it came up .

    1. Ah, I don’t care about those follows- unfollows anymore. WordPress right hand doesn’t know what their left hand is doing. I don’t want to press ‘follow’ when I know that I am already following. I am afraid to add to the glitch, you know. Just hope they will straighten it up some day.

      1. But I just don’t get how these posts never came up in my reader and it was saying here ‘follow” on the button and I thought , well I do. Then it suddenly went following. To be safe I unfollowed then followed, so if you get a notification that is why, Sometimes Wp is just bonkers.

        1. No, I haven’t got any notification, which only means that it is a glitch. I think it is all related to that new block system. I am grateful for your interest, and if you come over once a month, you will find two new posts here – or even one. You won’t miss a thing 🙂 xxxxxx

          1. I was just thinking that that was what I will do. I was looking again there at some of your photographs. Oh the swans are lovely and the wee puffed up robin. You have such a way of capturing nature , that’s beautiful, I would hate to miss any. AND you give us history as well. So got you on my list of must visits. xxxx

  4. Another lovely and educational walk, Inese. I’m now itching to look up the term ‘boycott’. I had previously no idea where it came from. The robins are wonderful, as are your photos of other species.The autumn colours in Tipperary that year were stunning and I’ll be interested to see what this year brings in Tipperary, or wherever else yo visit.

    1. Thank you, Millie! I have no idea what association is there between the House and Mr. Boycott, but it is always mentioned ( more likely, copied and pasted). I will have to meet with some people and try to find out the details. Was he a neighbour? An adviser? I am so curious 🙂
      I think there won’t be any spectacular foliage this autumn. We had a good few storms and the leaves are damaged and brownish at the edges.

  5. What magnificent colors in the foliage. It has to be awesome to have as home a tower six centuries old. A smile from the Peruvian winter to you, Inese, thank you for share that road with us ^^

    1. Thank you, Inese. These are the pictures from the previous years. We could expect the colors in early November, but not this year – the leaves are already damaged by storms.

    1. Thank you, Nilla! It is a long walk. You see other walkers closer to the villages, but after 2-3 kilometres you are mostly on your own, except for an occasional cyclist.

  9. It has been a pleasure walking with you! How I envy your fall colors – we have none of that here on the coast. I love the first photo of the castle/keep and then the larger house with the fall colors also. You are blessed with beauty! Oh, the robins are adorable too, See you on the next walk when you walk to the castle.

    1. Thank you! The pictures were taken in late October- early November. No colors here yet. The robins do look adorable when the weather turns colder. Our robins are way smaller than yours, but they have very similar personality.

    1. Thank you, Andrea! Many of these trees are introduced species, especially around the Landscape House, and they produce the most spectacular displays of colors and shades.

    1. Thank you so much, Janet! I know you would love Tipperary. River Suir is a border between two counties, both with a rich history.
      Glad you like my handsome robins. :)X

      1. Given the situation we all find ourselves in…travel and workshops throughout the British Isles is a much better idea for now and so Tipperary is a place I would love to explore with that in mind. Have a lovely and creative day and week ahead. Janet xx

  15. Thank you for the spectacular tour, Inese!
    It’s quite amazing what got built in wilderness settings.
    With all the beauty your fabulous pictures have shown, my fave are the robins!
    Thank you!

      1. I have a beautiful mural with a robin in it!
        I’ll try to find it for you. However, don’t hold your breath, I’ve posted 1,500 pieces of street art! LOL!

    1. Cindy, we don’t have the fall colors every year… Often the wind blows the leaves off before they turn, and the rain makes them brown and unattractive. These photographs were taken in 2018 – the weather was calm and chilly.

    1. Thank you! Each blog post is about a certain season. This part of the river is the most spectacular in autumn. More pics in two weeks 😉

    1. Thank you so much, Uma. Local history helps understand the bigger picture. Besides, it is my favorite village. I have been walking along the river and in the woods long before the Blueway was launched.

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