COLUMN: World-class natural amenities on our doorstep in Tipperary

We are blessed in this region with some of the most spectacular natural scenery, outdoor amenities and historical tourist sites in all of Ireland.

I had the pleasure this week of interviewing Triona O’Mahony for my Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the setting up of the Munster Vales tourism initiative.

Triona O’Mahony is the tourism marketing officer of the Munster Vales which was set up through the hard work of local community groups, county councils and Government agencies to promote the stunning areas lying to the south of Cashel, east of Charleville, and north of Fermoy and Lismore, it’s a vast area between the counties of Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Tipperary.

The purpose of Munster Vales is to promote this geographical area as a unique tourism brand, linking everything in between the Comeragh, Knockmealdown, Galtee, Ballyhoura and Nagles mountain ranges.

These five mountain ranges incorporate nine heritage sites and 1,100km of over 90 marked walking trails and provide a mix of outdoor recreational activities including walking, cycling and angling amongst historic inland and coastal and rural towns and villages.

The aim of Munster Vales is to develop and market our glorious region as “Ireland’s key inland visitor destination” and over the last five years through hard work they have successfully promoted this region within Ireland and internationally to highlight world class attractions like the Suir Blueway, Doneraile Wildlife Park, the Rock of Cashel, Cahir Castle, the Waterford Greenway, Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Park, Glen of Aherlow, Lough Gur and the Copper coast to name just a few places.

As someone who lives in Clonmel and surrounded by the mountains I have written many times in this paper about my love for our world-class natural amenities and the huge potential of the Munster Vales area to provide tourism employment to our region.

Rural development and sustainability are topics close to the heart of Triona from Munster Vales and one she discussed recently at their recent conference at the Cashel Palace Hotel, a hotel which has contributed hugely to the emergence of this region becoming a place appearing on all the “hot lists” in international travel magazines.

I noticed the Michelin Guide people were tweeting about the great food at the Cashel Place last week. So hopefully we will see a new Michelin star coming to Cashel.

An accolade that would be richly deserved for a hotel and town that has done so much to put the Munster Vales on the world culinary map with the people at places like Cashel Blue Cheese farm and Chez Hanz being the trailblazers for many years.

The huge advantage of the Munster Vales is that the area has the potential for year round tourism employment and Triona told me on the podcast that she believes that “sustainable tourism is a crucial area for tourism destinations today.

It is defined as tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities”.

For me personally the drive that sums up the stunning natural beauty and majesty of the Munster Vales region is a summer’s evening drive from Clonmel through Ardfinnan and Clogheen past open fields golden from the setting sun in the west over the Galtees and reflecting light on the Comeraghs in the hazy distance.

Then the drive takes you up and past the purple rhododendron covered hills all the way up to the Vee gap in the Knockmealdown mountains.

This viewing point shows off the Golden Vale plains stretching out as far as the eye can see behind you with Knockaunabulloga on one side and the Sugar Loaf on the other and a great walk to Bay lough just below. The drive down through ancient forests brings you to the old bridge to enter Lismore with the castle guarding the village like a scene from the Game of Thrones.

The whole Munster Vales area has some of the best walking trails in Ireland over five mountain ranges, along many rivers and on Waterford coastal trails I would recommend readers to check the www.munstevales.com website.

Trina told me the website has “interactive maps that give really practical information on the distances, where to park, the difficulty level, how long it would take. There’s something for everyone really from short loops of three to five kilometres, that are suitable for the smaller members of the family. And then the long distances all the way to five days walks on the St Declan’s Way”.

St Declan’s Way is on ancient medieval paths from the Rock of Cashel to the cliffs of Ardmore in Waterford. This walk is tapping into the ever increasing international interest in hiking as a holiday on old pilgrimage roads and it is getting a lot of attention in international media.

Another great walk that is getting international press is the stunning Suir Blueway which recently got a great positive travel write up in The Guardian newspaper in the UK. I accompanied the journalist Yvonne Gordon during the summer on a cycle along the Blueway from Carrick to Clonmel and it was an honour and privilege to highlight the trails natural beauty and great historical significance.

Yvonne was really impressed and she really saw the potential of this amazing amenity writing in the Guardian: “Connecting standout cultural sights, while winding through the best of the countryside and riverside settlements, this Blueway offers a laid-back way of exploring. There are plans to eventually connect the Suir Blueway Tipperary to the Waterford Greenway and the South East Greenway (currently under construction) – and a possible future link from Cahir to Cashel. This river once played an important role connecting places like Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel with the wider world, and it’s nice to think that this historic waterway has a future of new links and connections to continue its fascinating story”.

I walk the Suir Blueway every day and as I stroll along by the Suir river teeming with life, with Slievenamon on one side and the Comeraghs on the other, I am thankful to live in such a beautiful place. The whole of the Munster Vales is full of great sites to see and I would recommend visiting places like Doneraile Court, the Blackwater Valley Makers in Fermoy, Curraghmore House gardens, Black Castle at lough Gur.

An area of over 6,000 years of human history that has been written about by Manchan Magan in his new book: Rivers of Goddesses.

Check on my Travel Tales with Fergal Podcast Munster Vales special with Triona O’Mahony on all podcast platforms now.