A series by motoring historian Bob Montgomery
No 12: Thomastown to St Mullins
Regard this journey as a Sunday drive for it links together some of Ireland's prettiest villages as it zigzags around the dominant features of this landscape - the Rivers Nore and Barrow - two of the "Three Sisters".
We began our journey at Thomastown turning off the busy N9, forsaking its 18th century bridge and instead taking the road for Inistioge along the banks of the River Nore.
I wish I could say that there are spectacular views of the river as the road winds along beside it but, as so often in Ireland, the views are hidden by high hedges. (Some have unkindly suggested that the views would be visible if I were driving something other than a Lotus but I've checked and can confirm that it makes little difference!)
Crossing the River Nore we enter into the village of Inistioge with its 10-arched bridge, ruined castle and 18th and 19th century houses and streetscape. It's a pretty place with a surprisingly cosmopolitan aspect derived from its roadside bars and cafes grouped beside its grassy square. As a backdrop, Brandon Hill, topped by a cairn, rises in the background. An unusual feature of Inistioge is the closeness of its Catholic and Protestant churches - they are tucked away together and divided only by a graveyard.
Continue now along the R700 past Woodstock Gardens and Arboretum, created by Lady Louisa Tighe, for several kilometres until turning left at the sign for the village quaintly named The Rower.
We now follow the R705 to Graiguenamanagh. All along this road are views across the valley of the River Barrow towards the Blackstairs Mountains rising in the distance, Mount Leinster and Blackstair Mountain being the most prominent peaks.
Before long the valley becomes heavily forested before dropping down to Graiguenamanagh, the "dwelling of the monks". Here the Blackwater and Barrow meet and are crossed by George Semple's seven-arched 18th century bridge. Here also, reminding us once again of their hold on this area in times long gone, is a ruined Norman castle.
Despite its modern bustle there is a peace and tranquility, a timelessness in this valley which was perhaps best captured by Seán
Ó Faoláin: "The whole valley swoons in an air so delicately moist that it seems too heavy to move, so that on wet days even the clouds lie asleep across distant mountains, and one gets the overpowering sensation of steamy growth, of success over nature, of peace as unbroken as the buzzing of bees."
Nowhere in this beautiful valley was this more apparent than in St Mullins, the end of our journey. As we left Graiguenamanagh over its high-backed bridge and crossed into the village of Tinnahinch we turned right to follow the signs for St Mullins taking us once again along the road nearest the river.
St Mullins, or St Moling's House, is steeped in history which enchants with its tranquility and sense of being far removed from our world.
Moling, a pupil of St Kevin at Glendalough, founded a monastic settlement here in the 7th century. Today the ruins of four or five churches are visible together with the base of a round tower and a small oratory.
These ruins are grouped close to a church of much more recent origin, now apparently no longer in use and surrounded on the southwestern side by a graveyard which contains the last resting place of many who died in the Rising of 1798.
Once again the Norman hand on the landscape is felt here as a motte rises in front of the graveyard. Finish your journey in St Mullins by exploring these ancient sites at this bend in the River Barrow, silent witness to our history.
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