Clonmel is set on the N24, the main road from Limerick - Waterford, practically on the border with Co.Waterford. Be warned if you're driving as the town has a tricky one-way traffic system.

The upside of this is the number of pedestrianized streets which make it a good town to wander around on foot.

It's easy to forget that Clonmel is one of the largest towns in Ireland (nearly 30,000 people) and as such has many urban trappings, a student population (due to the recently-opened Institute of Technology, a selection of hotels, plenty of bright, spacious pub (the kind you'll have found in abundance in the main cities already) and nightclubs to boot.

You might be slightly surprised to find both a McDonald's and an Abrakebabra fast food outlet (indicating the presence of students and young families), given the fact that the mountains of Slievenamon to the north-east and the Galtees to the west are still visible, but then Clonmel is generally more cosmopolitan than the rest of Tipperary would give you to expect.