The College Gardens

The College gardens were designed by Richard Boyle, the first Earl of Cork. His son was Robert Boyle, after whom Boyle's Law is named. Richard Boyle left detailed diaries , now available on line in which, like Samuel Pepys, he details lots of the minutiae of his life, including the planting of his garden here and another at Lismore. Boyle is buried in St. Mary's Collegiate Church next door. It was here that Shakespeare is alleged to have performed some of his plays. One of the legends of Youghal is that Shakespeare visited his friend Walter Raleigh here. It as after one of his visits to Youghal that Shakespeare introduced the first ever stage Irishman to the world of theatre. From here you can climb the town walls - the longest stretch of town walls in the Republic of Ireland.