Cheeses of Cashel
A Tipperary town below the Rock of Cashel, which gave its name to Ireland's first farmhouse blue cheese.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: April to October.
Cashel is a town in the rich farmland of County Tipperary, below the Rock of Cashel, a cluster of medieval church buildings on a limestone outcrop. In 1984 a farming family near Fethard, a few miles away, began making a soft blue cheese from their herd's milk and named it Cashel Blue. It became the first Irish farmhouse blue and helped start the revival of Irish cheese.
Cashel Blue
Cashel Blue is a cow's milk blue, made from the milk of grass-fed herds. It is pierced to let the blue grow and ages for a few weeks to a few months. Young, it is firm and mildly tangy; older, it becomes soft, creamy and fuller. The same family also makes a sheep's milk blue, Crozier Blue.
The Rock and the Golden Vale
The Rock of Cashel was the seat of the kings of Munster before it was given to the church in 1101. Its round tower, Romanesque chapel and roofless cathedral are among the finest medieval buildings in Ireland. The surrounding Golden Vale is some of Ireland's best dairy land, with green pastures, stud farms and old market towns.
A trail idea for Cashel
- Rock of Cashel The medieval churches and round tower on the rock.
- Hore Abbey A ruined Cistercian abbey in the fields below.
- Fethard The walled medieval town near the cheese's home farm.
- Golden Vale Drive through the dairy country of Tipperary.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Cashel, County Tipperary" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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