On this day in 1298, Otho de Grandison, Lord of the Manor of Clonmel, was given a murage grant which authorised him to levy tolls for ten years on merchandise in the town of Clonmel in order to raise money for building a town wall.
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The 13th century was a period of great unrest with the Anglo-Norman towns subject to frequent attacks by the native Irish. Even though it took a long time to build and it was a financial burden on the burgesses, a town wall afforded good protection and every effort was made to keep it in good repair.
Further murage grants were made in 1316, 1319, 1335, 1364, 1408 and 1463. When completed, the wall stood 425 metres long East-West and between 250/300 metres wide North-South. It enclosed an area of roughly 14 hectares. It was 7.5 – 8.5 metres high and 1.5 metres thick. For added protection, the wall was surrounded by a ditch which is thought to have been 7 metres wide and 3.5 metres deep.
Today, not a lot remains of the original walls, with the notable exception of a 200 metre stretch enclosing part of the Old St. Mary’s churchyard. There is evidence for a wall walk on the inner face of the wall. There are also three towers which date from the 15th century.
There were five gates in the medieval wall. The present West Gate, erected in 1831, stands on the site of the original gate. The North Gate probably stood at the junction of Morton Street and Gladstone Street, while the East Gate, also called Kilsheelane Gate, was at the intersection of Emmet Street, Dowd’s Lane, Parnell Street and Mitchell Street. The South Gate was at the end of the present Bridge Street and the Watergate was at the bottom of Sarsfield Street.
In the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, Clonmel experienced an industrial revolution which caused the town to expand and a new quay, mills and warehouses were built. As a result of this development, the South Wall was demolished to make space for the new buildings and to facilitate access to the river. The other walls suffered a similar fate shortly afterwards.
The most notable military test of the walls when Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army laid siege to the town on 27 April 1650. The townspeople, lead by Mayor John White and Hugh Dubh O’Neill held out for several weeks against the before the walls were breached on the second day of the final bombardment. The defence of Clonmel was described by the New Model Army as ‘the heaviest we ever endured either in England or here.”
The last military service performed by the Walls of Clonmel was at the time of the United Irishmen rebellion in 1798 when the north west tower was used as a magazine (a store for arms and ammunition).
Sources:
Clonmel: An Architectural Guide, Elizabeth Shee and S.J. Watson, (1992) p18-21
Brochure on the Walls of Clonmel, text by Liam O’ Duibhir.
