Youghal, pronounced "yawl", used to be called "Eo-Chaille", Irish for "the forest of yew trees". Strategically based at the mouth of the River Blackwater it was occupied for some time by Viking raiders in the course of the 9^th century, who built a fortress and laid the foundations of a commercial seaport. In 1183, the order of the "Knights Templars" erected a small castle there, named "Rhincrew". As its harbour was a vital base for the English domination of Ireland, Youghal grew in prosperity and in splendour as a Medieval Town. But the fact was that it became a foreign settlement with consequently limited trading contacts with its hinterland, hence preventing the full and natural development of the town and harbour which turned into a fortified place. Despite this, and furthermore a shallow harbour approach preventing ships from entering at low water, Youghal became one of the great ports of the southern coast. At regular intervals, from the reign of Edward I in 1275, to that of James I in 1603, successive English monarchs made money grants for the repair and strengthening of the town walls. The place had to be protected in the face of threats from 2 different quarters: on one hand there was the bitterly hostile native Irish population, some of them living just beyond the walls, and the other threat came from 2 countries across the sea, France and Spain. When the walls were first built, there were 13 circular towers placed at intervals along them. Three of the medieval towers, together with a large section of the town walls, still exist. Notwithstanding that the town suffered tremendously during various sieges, these fortifications are still in an amazing good condition. The town was taken and sacked by Gerald Fitzgerald, 14th Earl of Desmond, in 1579. Sir Walter Raleigh, who introduced both the potato and tobacco in Europe, was mayor of Youghal in 1588-9. He lived there in an Elizabethan mansion, called "Myrtle Grove", which still exists today. During the Civil War in 1641, the town was gallantly maintained by Richard Boyle, 1^st Earl of Cork, who died there, while being shut in by the rebels, on the 15^th of September 1643. He is buried in St. Marys church. The Earl of Castlehaven besieged the town for 10 weeks, yet the heroism of the garrison kept him at bay until help arrived from Cork by sea, who finally repulsed him with heavy losses to his forces. Youghal opened its gates to Oliver Cromwell, in August 1649, who subsequently used the town as his winter quarters. It was finally from Youghal that he left the Irish shores for good, on board of the frigate "President" which had awaited him in the harbour there. Today, with barely 6,000 inhabitants, Youghal still reflects its rich and eventful past, yet in a quaint and peaceful atmosphere , where various relics of its bygone days can still be admired.

Youghal’s Clock Tower, spanning Main Street, is the town’s most famous landmark. In relation to the rich and ancient history of the town, this unusual edifice is relatively modern. It was built in 1776 to replace an earlier building, which was known as the "Iron Gate", or "Trinity Castle", because it was falling into decay. This ancient gate was an integral part of the Town Walls. This new building, however, was built for a quite different purpose; it was built as a prison, with 3 storeys including two rooms for a prison keeper, or "gaoler", and capped with a section for a clock and bell. This change in the function of the tower, from fortified gate to prison, corresponded to the changing problems and concerns of that particular period. It was not so much direct attack by regular military forces any more that was feared, but the actions of local rebellious forces. These insurgent groups, who mainly operated in the countryside, also occasionally staged raids on the Town itself. It was to "accommodate" the increasing amount of captured "rebels", that this strong prison was erected. Youghal was a "closed borough" totally dominated by members of the Protestant minority. No Catholic merchant of the town was accepted as a "freeman" of Youghal. In the town and countryside, Catholics were deprived of religious, political and civil rights. The Borough Council openly denounced them as "enemies". In such an environment, there was naturally widespread support, open or tacit, for the insurrection movement. It was to deal with those "guerrillas" and their supporters that the Council had decided that they urgently needed a strongly build "Gaol". Within a few years of the tower’s construction the number of persons arrested as rebels, or suspected of plotting against the Crown, rose so far beyond expectations that the prison keeper had to be moved out of his quarters to make room for more prisoners. About 10 years later an entire new storey was added to the tower, and capped with a new clock and bell section, it acquired its present contours. The turnover of prisoners within the tower was expeditious, and their numbers passing through that jail was considerably higher than the available space might suggest. Here prisoners were regularly tortured, mainly for the purpose of extracting information about insurrection plans and movements. Often people were flogged there before being deported, while others were publicly hanged from some window of the tower, overlooking the main street. This savage spectacle, it was understood, would terrorise the rebellious population and, at that period in time, the Clock Tower of Youghal had indeed become a symbol of terror and oppression.