Nestled against a backdrop of river, hills and medieval town walls, Clonmel's century-old warehouses and brand new businesses jostle for a place along the banks of the Suir.
Just up from the quays is the Cluain Centre on Nelson Street. Here you can buy beautiful, very reasonably priced pottery made on the premises, including egg-cups, jugs, ash-trays, candlesticks, goblets, mugs, bowls, teapots and oil burners in various shades of blue, brown, ochre and green, all for under a tenner, and larger vases from £25 to £30. "We only charge what we think it's worth," explains supervisor Andrew Doyle. "We don't have to worry about making a profit." Cluain Pottery is a funded training centre for disabled people.
Serendipity on Mitchell Street specialises in mid-price silver jewellery and ethnic craftwork. It's full of quirky, artistic gifts from between £12 and £35, from bold batik wall-hangings and African masks to mobiles of dancing figures made from natural grasses and banana skins. Most unusual are the tall, wooden, giraffe sculptures: loving care has gone into their long necks and tails, their spotted markings and delicate faces. The giraffes range in price from £155 to £200, and the tallest is nearly seven feet high! Barbara Hetherington, Serendipity's owner, gets most of her stock from workers' co-operatives in Ghana and South Africa.
Further on up Mitchell Street is The Knitwear Shop. Some 70 per cent of the scarves, hats and colourful jumpers sold here are Irish made, including the Kerry classics and traditional fisherman ranges, with sweater prices rising from £30 to £85. Istigh Interior Design, round the corner on Emmet Street, is a seasonally decorated shop specialising in beautiful household goods, from novelty bookends, prints in carved wooden frames, and a good choice of artificial flowers - including bunches of bright tulips, reasonably priced at £8 - to wooden bookshelves, benches, bedsteads, cabinets, dressers and oval mirrors. Particularly attractive are the heavy, handmade coffee tables; their high-quality finishes bring out the wood's natural markings, and they come in a wide choice of shapes and sizes. The price for a 60-inch-square coffee table is £150.
Parking: At the West Gate off O'Connell Street, along the quays, off Gladstone Street, and off Davis Road.
Lunchstop: The lemon yellow decor and flowery tablecloths in Angela's Restaurant on Abbey Street give the place a warm cosy feel. There's always at least one vegetarian dish on the menu; try the tasty Cashel blue-cheese, leek-and-tomato flan and a baked potato with lentil, mixed vegetable, and carrot and beetroot salads on the side, all for £3.80. On sale here too is a delicious Tipperary apple juice, made nearby at The Apple Farm, outside Cahir.
Hinterland hint: The village of Cahir - 15 minutes' drive from Clonmel and home to the famous Cahir Castle - is where Richard O'Gorman has chosen to open his brand new aquarium shop, situated on the riverbank in Tinsley Mills, a large, listed, beautifully refurbished building on Church Street. Up until now O'Gorman has been supplying fishshops wholesale with his hand-crafted, wood-finished aquariums which can be made to the shape and size the customer wants - even triangular. O'Corman's fish are sold in a complete unit that includes gravel, plants, pumps and a follow-up service to ensure the unit is properly installed. Prices range from £45 up.
From Cahir, it's an easy drive to the small village of Clogheen, where Klaas and Bernie Huizenga have set up the Tipperary Music Shop. Here, in an old converted stables out back, you can see Klaas stretching wet goatskin around wooden bodhran frames, which he later silk-screens with intricate Celtic designs. Klaus reckons he has sold close to 10,000 bodhrans this year. The drums range in price from £15 to £45, and the Huizengas' shop has a wide range of Irish music books and whistles. They also sell locally produced crafts, including beautiful, Celtic-style ceramic faces by awardwinning Cashel artist Sarah Ryan.
