Fethard (Fiodh Ard, meaning "high wood") is a small town in County Tipperary, with a population in 2022 of 1700. It was settled by the Normans from 1201, who built its defensive walls. The town's medieval buildings are the main reason to visit.

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Map of Fethard

Kavanagh's Bus 393 / 396 runs thrice M-Sa from Clonmel to Fethard, 20 min. It continues north for another 75 min through the back lanes to Thurles, which is on the Dublin-Cork railway line.

And that's all; there's no bus from nearby Cashel or Cahir. You need your own wheels.

Walk, the town is small.

• 52.4661-7.69761 Holy Trinity Church, Main St, Fethard. RC church mostly from 15th century, with ruined chapel and sacristry adjacent. The graveyard stretches down to a length of medieval town wall. It's only open for mass. Free. (updated Apr 2025)
• Fethard Horse Country Experience, The Tholsel, Main St, Fethard E91 R652, ☏ +353 52 613 0439. Tu-Sa 10AM-5PM. Small museum illustrating horses and horse-rearing in this region. Adult €12.50, conc €9, child €5. (updated Apr 2025)
• 52.4661-7.69082 Augustinian Friary, Abbey St, Fethard. 14th-century friary, now a Roman Catholic church. It has medieval stain glass windows, and a Sheila-na-gig frowsing from the east wall. Free. (updated Apr 2025)

• Town walls were built in the 13th century. Those northside are mostly lost, although the north gate survives on Rocklow St. The best preserved stretch is south, facing R706 An Gleann ("The Valley"). By Watergate is a huddle of ruined 17th-century tower houses, and a Sheila-na-gig set into the wall.
• 52.4707-7.68043 Cramps Castle is just one sorry stump, 1 km east of town.
• 52.4925-7.66084 Knockelly Castle is a tower house on private farmland 5 km northeast.
• 52.4159-7.70285 Lisronagh Castle is the shell of a 16th-century tower house along the road from Clonmel.
• 52.437-7.5516 Slievenamon is the 721-m mountain to the east. There are four prehistoric cairns around its summit, and many legends of the Otherworld beings that issue from those portals.

• Abymill Theatre is in a restored mill next to the abbey.
• See Cashel for Tipperary Raceway, midway between the towns.
• Slievenamon Golf Club is 5 km south of town at Lisronagh. White tees 4717 m (5082 yards), par 70.

• Centra convenience store is northeast end of Main St, open daily 7AM-9PM.
• The car boot sale and collector's market is held on Sunday 10AM-2PM, 500 m northwest of town along R692 the Cashel Road.

• Sadler's, Cashel Rd, Fethard E91 W2N3, ☏ +353 623 0699. Su-Th 8AM-5PM, F Sa 8AM-11PM. Good trad fare. (updated Apr 2025)
• The Lantern is a fish & chips takeaway on Main St, open daily 4-10PM.
• Emily's, Burke St, Fethard E91 CK06, ☏ +353 52 613 2728. M-Sa 8AM-3PM. Pleasant lunch and breakfast spot, cash only. (updated Apr 2025)

• McCarthy's Pub, Restaurant and Undertaker (not necessarily in that order), 17 Main St, Fethard E91 HP86, ☏ +353 52 613 1149. Th-Sa 4:30PM-midnight, Su 12:30-11PM. This legendary all-purpose institution was founded in the 1850s. It's handy for wakes but you don't have to be deceased to enjoy eating and drinking here. But they've focused a bit and no longer operate as a hotel, draper, grocer, spirit merchant, glass & porcelain shop and hackney horse hire. Pubs-cum-undertakers became common in Ireland at the Famine, when the law required bodies to be brought to the nearest pub until an inquest could be held: the pub had cold storage, and premises for a wake. That law was only repealed in 1962, and acting as a mortician was also a fast-track to gaining a publican's licence. The combination declined as separate funeral directors developed. It's reckoned some 80 pubs across Ireland still act as undertakers, but none are as cheek-by-jowl as McCarthy's. (updated Apr 2025)
• Lonergans is the other pub along Main St.

• 52.4629-7.70351 Cozie B&B, Rosegreen Rd, Fethard E91 WP96, ☏ +353 52 613 2276. Friendly well-run B&B, no dogs. They also have a self-catering townhouse on Main St, four bedrooms, sleeps 10. B&B double €125. (updated Apr 2025)
• 52.4365-7.70422 Clonacody House, Fairfields, Clonacody E91 HF40, ☏ +353 87 168 9167. Georgian mansion that can be hired self-catering, B&B or fully catered, eg for weddings. (updated Jul 2020)

As of April 2025, Fethard and its approach roads have a patchy basic mobile signal from Eir and Vodafone, yet 5G from Three.

• Cashel to the north is a must-see for the Rock and nearby religious sites.
• Waterford is an interesting port with a Viking, Norman and Georgian heritage.
• Tipperary is a pleasant market town with a famous name but that's about all. Keep heading west towards Limerick, a lively miniature Dublin.