Lismore is an idyllic setting for quality opera

Lismore is gearing up for its seventh opera festival, with the hotly tipped Rachel Croash starring in a production of Così Fan Tutte, writes Cathy Desmond

NESTLED in the Blackwater Valley at the foot of the Knockmealdown Mountains, Lismore is arguably the prettiest town in Ireland.

In his 19th century Irish Sketch Book , William Makepeace Thackeray was effusive in his praise of the town and environs, describing “the river and banks as fine as the Rhine and the castle as noble and picturesque as Warwick”. June is a busy month in the Co Waterford town with three niche festivals stacked up dedicated to opera, travel writing, and scientist Robert Boyle.