Tipperary: A preamble that is Suir to please

KILSHEELAN TO CARRICK-ON-SUIR

WHAT a fine, broad robust river the Suir at Kilsheelan is. Within a minute of reaching its bank we were welcomed by a local inhabitant, an otter with a mud-pack on its face, surfacing beside us and regarding us, quite unafraid, before heading off upriver towards the big, many-arched bridge.

We had set off from the village only minutes before, crossing the road from where we’d parked. As we headed for the bridge, we passed the 12th century Norman motte, a pudding-shaped green mound into which has been inserted a Marian Shrine. Taking the path on the left down to the river bank, we encountered the otter and a useful signboard depicting local attractions and historic artifacts, with information on each. Before setting off along the path down river, we walked under the dry arch of the bridge and got a fine view of the turreted Gurteen Le Poer, a neo-Gothic Victorian mansion and parklands, upriver on the opposite bank.