Youghal Clock Gate Tower

The Clock Gate was built in 1777 on the site of an earlier town gate, straddling Youghal's main street so that traffic passes through its arch. It housed the town clock and, for its first decades, the town jail on the upper floors - prisoners were held there, and executions were carried out by hanging from the windows, including during the 1798 rebellion. Afterwards it became housing, then offices, and by the 2000s it was empty. It reopened in 2016 as a guided-tour attraction, with each floor covering a period of the town's history and a viewing platform at the top over the Blackwater estuary and the town walls. Youghal was a significant walled port - Walter Raleigh was mayor here in 1588 and his house, Myrtle Grove, survives privately. The tower is climbed by a narrow spiral stair with four floors, and tours run at set times with limited numbers.

What you actually see

• The tower over the street - traffic passing under the 1777 arch.
• The jail floors - where prisoners were held and executions carried out.
• The viewing platform - over the town walls and the Blackwater estuary.
• The town walls - substantial medieval sections elsewhere in Youghal.

When to go

April to October; opening is seasonal with limited winter hours. Tours run at set times with small numbers - book rather than turning up.

Honest expectations

Guided tour only, at fixed times, with limited places. A narrow spiral stair over four floors, unsuitable for limited mobility. The execution history is covered directly and some visitors find it grim.

Nearby

Youghal's town walls and Saint Mary's Collegiate Church are a short walk; the beach is south.