For some odd reason, you won’t find Newport marked on GoogleMaps! Instead it is marked as Congress, which is an area south of the village. To right this, I decided to make a few geocaches for this picturesque town where I grew up and went to school, in the hope that visitors might stop, have a stroll down by the river, feed the ducks or have a coffee before moving on, hopefully to other caches in the nearby area. Why not make a day of it? Welcome to Newport!
Newport (Irish: Port Nua or formerly Tulach Sheasta) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is located approximately 16 km from Limerick. The Newport River, a tributary of the Mulcair (or Mulkear) River, flows through the middle of the town where it is joined by the Cully River. Newport is nestled in the foothills of the Silvermine Mountains. The highest of these mountains is Keeper Hill, a well-used local hiking and walking area. Newport is close to Lough Derg and the villages of Murroe, Killaloe and Ballina. The original settlement in Newport dates back centuries back before the Norman invasions. After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Richard Warren Waller acquired Cully Castle sometime in the 1650s. He was granted 1,195 acres (4.84 km2) of land in the vicinity. After the war the castle was in ruins and rebuilt as Castle Waller. A townland still bears that name. During this time the settlement was changed from the Irish name Tulach Sheasta (Standing Hill) to the English ‘Newport’. The first church in Newport, the Church of St. John, belonging to the Anglican faith (Church of Ireland), was built in 1766. It formed the major church in Newport until the building of a 'Mass house' was completed by the end of the 18th century after the relaxing of the penal laws. The last service in the Anglican church was held in 1964 and was sadly later demolished. The church graveyard remains. The older Catholic church, also St. John’s was built in Chapel Lane around 1795. Today there is one church in the town. The Church of the Most Holy Redeemer was built in 1933 and its size and bell tower form Newport’s landmark, which can be seen from far and wide. It is located on Church road, opposite the site of the Anglican graveyard. The town also contains an old courthouse and a jail called the Bridewell. Built in 1862-63 on land owned by Sir Edward Waller, the courthouse was used to prosecute minor offences. Occasionally it was also used for preliminary hearings for more serious crimes, before being referred to a higher circuit court.
Park in the free parking area beside the Bridewell jail. Look through the iron railings here for nice views of the weir and stone ruins of the mill below it. Keep an eye out for a heron that often stands fishing there. Look upriver to the bridge which spans the Newport River. From the parking area, turn left and stroll towards the ‘Square’, surrounded by shops and a pub. I don’t know why it’s called this because it’s not square. Go figure. Anyway, turn left around the corner and cross the road so you can use the walkway to cross the bridge. Mind the road here! On crossing the bridge, you will have views of the confluence of the Newport and Cully rivers, as well as a landscaped area and a ball alley (with a green wall) that used to be a Boys National School. The rivers are full of brown trout and eel, and salmon also run through it. You should also be able to see the nice old arch from the previous bridge built from red sandstone.
Cross the road carefully here and head down Chapel Lane. The coordinates take you to a spot beside the river. The cache is at street level. No need to climb over walls or go down to the river itself to find it. Bring your own pen. Use stealth. Replace as you found. If you have some more time, have a break in one of the two coffee shops or take a stroll further down Chapel Lane along the river, where you’ll find the old mill and creamery and further along, the ornate cast Iron gates and remains of the former St. John's Church. There are information boards for both which tell of their history.
If you have some bread, the ducks and geese will always welcome visitors!
Here is a video I made of Newport and the Mulkear River in summer 2019. Check out my YouTube channel (Snowcelt) for other videos of nature spots and walks in the area.