Send flowers to Cashel, County Tipperary

Cashel (Irish: Caiseal, meaning a stone ringfort) is a historic market town in the Golden Vale of County Tipperary. The 2022 census counted 4,805 people, so this is a town of a few thousand rather than the city that older directories sometimes call it. It lies just off the M8 Dublin to Cork motorway, and the bypass opened in 2004 took the through traffic off the old main street. The Rock of Cashel rises above the town, and almost everyone who comes here has that outline in mind.

Under the Rock

The Rock of Cashel is an isolated limestone hill, and the group of ruins at its top gave the town its origin. In the fifth century the Eóganachta dynasty made it their capital, and Saint Patrick is believed to have baptised the king Aengus here. In 977 Brian Boru was crowned king of Cashel and Munster. That history is why Cashel is sometimes called the City of the Kings, and it also explains why a bouquet sent to a local hotel or guest house often marks a wedding, an anniversary or a family visit from abroad.

Down in the town you can find the Heritage Centre and Tourist Office in the Town Hall on Main Street, where a model of the town in the 1640s is displayed. The Cathedral Church of St John the Baptist and St Patrick's Rock stands on John Street, and the former archbishop's palace reopened as a hotel in 2022. The ruins of St Dominic's Abbey are visible to the south-east of the Rock, and the Cashel Folk Village adds replica displays of country life.

Rural addresses and the Eircode

Cashel is a small town, but many of its customers live in the countryside around it, in houses without a street name. For these addresses the Eircode is essential: it identifies the exact building, even in a townland where several houses share a name. Provide the townland, the house name or number and a mobile number. If the house is hard to find, add a short note such as the colour of the gate or the nearest landmark. One clear line in the delivery box saves the driver a good deal of time on narrow country roads.

The nearest railway station to Cashel is at Cahir, about 17 km away, and the more frequent services call at Thurles. Many people who live in or near the town therefore travel by car or coach, and visitors often arrive on the Bus Éireann service between Dublin and Cork. That is a reminder that guests are often coming from some distance, so a bouquet waiting in a room or sent to the host can be a pleasant welcome.

Occasions in a market town

In a place with a strong parish identity, flowers still mark the moments that matter. A birthday bouquet for a grandparent, a posy for a new baby, flowers for a christening or First Communion, and a bouquet for a wedding anniversary are all common. Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, and in Cashel as elsewhere it is a day when many families gather after Mass. St Brigid's Day on 1 February is another date, especially for those who make a Brigid's cross.

Sympathy flowers in Tipperary

In Tipperary, as in the rest of Ireland, a funeral usually takes place two or three days after a death. A removal is held the evening before, and a wake may take place at home. Death notices on rip.ie usually state the time and place and may ask for family flowers only or for donations to a charity. Follow that wish, and send a card or a Mass card instead. When flowers are welcome, simple white arrangements are the norm. Ask the funeral director or the parish office where to send them, because the church, the funeral home and the family home are three different addresses.

What to put in your order

Give the recipient's full name as it appears on the door, the Eircode and a mobile number. Choose a delivery date when someone is likely to be home, and avoid a day when the family is away at a match or a funeral in the parish. A short message card that mentions a shared memory will mean more than a long one. If you are sending flowers to a business in the town, check the opening hours first, so that someone is on the premises to sign for the bouquet.

Did you know? Brian Boru was crowned king of Cashel and Munster in 977, and the town is still known as the City of the Kings.