Carrick-on-Suir

Population 5,543 (Urban) : Visit http://homepage.eircom.net/~ancaislean

The name Carrick-on-Suir comes from the Irish translation of Carraig na Siuire which means the "Rock of the Suir". The foundation of Carrick as a settlement might have some origin with the gaelic Deisi tribe who at one point ruled the whole of Waterford as well as south-east Tipperary. They fended of Vikings and local raiders until about the late 12 century when the Normans came and ultimately shattered their power for ever.

Soon after the Deisi Tribe was finished forever their lands were taken over by Anglo-Norman families and other Gaelic settlers from around Ireland. The land they settled on covered the entire diocese of Waterford and Lismore including Carrick.

Carrick-on-Suir was one of the seven walled towns established in Tipperary by the Anglo-Normans following their conquest of Ireland in the 12th century. It was, in fact, the largest town in Tipperary in in Medieval times, with 36 acres being enclosed by the town wall, parts of which still survive. There was also a river wall, an unusual feature in medieval towns because of the interference with access to the river front for trade

Carrick-on-Suir became known as Carrig Mac Griffin after the Norman Matthew Fitzgriffin, Lord of the manor of Carrick. Matthew Fitzgriffin is also said to have built a Castle at Knoctopher in about 1200 which eventually became one of the principal ruling seats of the Butler family.

From their base in Waterford, the Norsemen made regular incursions to Carrig from which they raided the surrounding countryside taking animals and crops to help supply their main base. It is recorded that an Anglo Norman family came to Carrig named the Le Brets little is known of them, but that they left behind their ruined Manor House of the Butlers.

Then in 1309 came Edmond le Bottiler, who was later created Earl of Carrig in 1315. His son received the title Earl of Ormonde and the older title was abandoned. The Butlers were to be the most influential family throughout the history of Carrick.

As a market town on the River Suir, Carrick-on-Suir grew in prominence during the medieval period, when the woollen industry was set up by the Butler family and contributed to the town's prosperity. In 1447, a stone bridge known as the Old Bridge was built across the river.

The town parks were erected when a committee of town merchants and gentlemen was set up to deal with the sum of Ł600 which was left unexpended from the famine relief fund. Land was granted by the Ormonde family and it was decided to set-up public parks and plant trees on the Fair Green. The project was completed in around 1868 and Carrick's handsome parks can still be enjoyed today.

The modern history of the town was centered around the tanning industry that arrived in 1934 to 1938. Factories and businesses now flourish in Carrick.In the early 20th century, the tanning industry prospered in Carrick-on-Suir, although it closed down in recent times. Carrick-on-Suir is also the birthplace of the cyclist Sean Kelly, who became internationally renowned in the 1980s, and gave his name to the town square and sports centre. The town is surrounded by fertile farmland, with the East Munster walking way passing through en route to Clonmel.