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LISMORE |
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Set in the lovely broad plain of the Blackwater Valley, three miles
west of Cappoquin, LISMORE , recently designated a heritage town, has a
significant ecclesiastical history. There's not much sign of this rich
history today, but nevertheless the town does somehow manage to preserve
a quiet reverence for its past. The town is dominated by the romantic
towers and battlements of Lismore Castle (not open to the public), whose
pale, white-grey stone, set with mullioned windows, rises magnificently
on the hill from glorious woodlands and sumptuous gardens (May-Sept
daily 1.45-4.45pm; £3/¬3.81). The castle itself is a successful mid-nineteenth-century
imitation of a Tudor castle, remodelled by Joseph Paxton (designer of
London's Crystal Palace) around the remains of the medieval fort that
originally stood here. Its long occupation by the Anglo-Irish
aristocracy (and less permanent colonists, including Sir Walter Raleigh)
explains why so much of the layout of the park and farmland around here
is reminiscent of wealthy English shires.
However, it is to a much earlier period than the castle's for which
Lismore owes its reputation. In 635 AD St Carthage founded a monastic
complex for both monks and nuns in Lismore, and the place so flourished
as a centre of learning that in the next century, under the influence of
great teachers such as St Colman, it became an important university city
. This growth continued into the twelfth century, despite three hundred
years of sporadic pillage by first Vikings then Normans. Lismore held
great political as well as religious power, and the rivalry between the
sees of Lismore and Waterford, which epitomizes the split histories of
Waterford city and county, was only resolved in 1363 when the two were
united.
Invaders continued to attack the city and in the late sixteenth century
the medieval cathedral was almost totally destroyed by Queen Elizabeth's
army. Its site is now occupied by the Church of Ireland St Carthage's
Cathedral . Although built in 1633, its overall appearance is early
nineteenth-century neo-Gothic, the tower and ribbed spire having been
added in 1827 by James Pain and the windows of the nave reshaped at the
same time. It's a lovely building, sitting in a cobbled churchyard of
ancient yews and pollarded limes. Inside is some interesting stonework,
including the McGrath family tomb (1548), which has carvings of the
apostles, mystical beasts and skulls. The chunky carving of a bishop
holding an open book set in the back wall is probably from the
ninth-century monastic settlement. In the south transept, just on your
left as you enter, there's some striking stained glass by Burne-Jones,
the English pre-Raphaelite.
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