History:

Carlow was a stronghold of the Anglo-Normans. It was frequently a main centre because of its strategic position on the border of the English Pale. The earliest record relating to the town is the charter of William le Mareschal, Earl of Pembroke. Between 1361, when the town was walled, and 1650, its history is a series of struggles for possession, sieges and burnings. In the 1798 Rising, Carlow was again a scene of battle, and 640 of the attacking insurgents were killed.

Carlow is a tiny inland county in the shape of an upside-down triangle, south of County Kildare and south-west of County Wicklow. The River Slaney flows through its eastern part, which is an extension of the granite area of County Wicklow. West of this lies the fertile limestone land of the Barrow valley, and beyond to the north-west is pleasant upland country. The county has much to offer the sightseer, the sportsman and the climber.

Carlow:

Carlow, the county town is pleasantly situated on the River Barrow. Its thriving industries include a beet sugar factory, flour milling and malting.

Things to do:

There is salmon, trout and coarse fishing on the Barrow. The Barrow River and it's tributaries offer some game angling waters but it is more as a coarse angling river that it is best known. Carlow Town, Bagenalstown and Graiguenamanagh are the major centres. The golf course (18) is in the Oak Park north of the town. River cruising, tennis, pitch and putt, swimming (outdoor heated pool), cinema.

There is salmon, trout and coarse fishing on the Barrow. The Barrow River and it's tributaries offer some game angling waters but it is more as a coarse angling river that it is best known. Carlow Town, Bagenalstown and Graiguenamanagh are the major centres. The golf course (18) is in the Oak Park north of the town. River cruising, tennis, pitch and putt, swimming (outdoor heated pool), cinemaDelightful formal and informal gardens at Altamount House which dates to the late 17th Century. The gardens convey a sense of tranquility and timeless beauty both visually and with a rapture of scents. Tender lawns reach to the large, manmade lake whose perimeter walk provides ever changing vistas with rare trees, shrubs and bountiful wild life. A large wild garden with many rare shrubs lead to a dramatic ice-age glen overlooking the River Slaney walk.

Around Carlow

The county’s most prominent feature is the 5000-year-old granite formation known as Browne’s Hill Dolmen. It's believed to have the largest capstone in Europe, weighing a colossal 100 tonnes. Another place of interest in the Barrow valley is the village of St Mullins, 9 miles (14 km) south of Borris, where there are both Early Christian and medieval remains. The monastery was founded by St Moling, who later became Bishop of Ferns, and was the burial place of the kings of Leinster. The Book of Moling, a Latin copy of the Gospels of very ancient date, is now in Trinity College, Dublin.

Tullow

Tullow, the main town in the east of the county, is a centre for anglers fishing the Slaney and other nearby rivers. In the market square stands a statute of Father John Murphy, the insurgent leader, who was captured near Tullow and executed in the Market Square on 2 July 1798.