Fethard in County Tipperary occupies a more strategic location than Athenry, sitting on a rise astride the River Clashawley, between Kilkenny and Cahir. But Fethard never caught on as a market or political center, which probably saved its walls from destruction. Still the home of several monastic orders, tiny Fethard today claims the most complete circuit of medieval town wall in Ireland. Recently a large section, including a tower, wall walk and several original gates, was restored.

From the well-tended churchyard of Holy Trinity Church, which is entered through a gateway on Abbey Street, I climbed steps up to a tower and a walkway along the crenelated southern portion. From these heights, I could see lush pastures awash in heather, hilltop forests and a long section of the south wall between private gardens and the riverbank. A park with benches and a path along the river is the best place from which to view the wall or to stroll along its length. The bright hue of the recently cleaned stones here suggests something of the magnificence of the medieval town.

In contrast to Fethard, at Kilmallock in County Limerick about 40 minutes to the west, only a few sections of the original town wall remain. But the contours of the land and the preservation of a number of old buildings, including a stone mansion -- a merchant's home like the ones that once lined the main street -- and the lovely restored Blossom Gate, afford an unusually striking vision of the medieval town. The Fitzgerald family, also Anglo-Norman settlers, fortified the town in the 14th century, but an earlier walled community existed on the site, establishing Kilmallock as both a religious and political center. I drove into town at the northern end on the N20, still called John's Gate, though the gatehouse is long gone, and parked near the tower of King's Castle, where the signposted walking tour begins.

Though little of the east wall remains, that side of town offers the best glimpse of the past: several side streets lead to an open expanse cradled by the curve of the town and the remains of two grand 13th-century churches -- the Collegiate Church and the Dominican Friary, both home to some extraordinary carved stone and currently undergoing restoration. At the tiny town museum filled to the ceiling with dusty memorabilia, the elderly curator explained the scale model of the wall and directed me to a path at the back of the new (1879) Collegiate Church of St. Peter and St. Paul near John's Gate, where I could see several hundred yards of original fortification. Part of this swath of stonework forms the back of a big supermarket parking lot, as it must have enclosed a busy marketplace long ago.

Not far from Fethard, Youghal (pronounced YAWL) in County Cork tells one of the most engaging walled town stories, and with its historic buildings and sea views is one of the gems of Ireland's south coast. A natural harbor and access via the Blackwater River to rich forests made Youghal an attractive location for a port. Like Dublin, Youghal was settled by the Vikings and fortified in the 13th century by the Normans, who built the walls and at least 12 towers so close to each other that sentries could call from one to the next. More than half the town wall remains standing, including a long western section; several towers; the Water Gate, originally the main entrance to the docks; and the Clock Gate, an elegant four-storied tower with a cupola.

A walking tour of Youghal begins at the visitors center near the Water Gate, but it's easy enough to follow the circuit on your own. The Water Gate's pointed archway with its crenelated top stands outside the old town in an adjacent walled area called the Base Town. Oliver Cromwell is said to have departed Ireland for good from the Water Gate, sometimes called Cromwell's Arch, in 1650 after leading a campaign of slaughter and destruction that solidified English control of the country.

The Clock Gate, the town's most recognizable and unusual feature, was built in the 18th century on the site of the old Trinity Gate and marks the southern entrance to the town. Once used as a prison and execution site, it is one of many past and present municipal buildings in Ireland that merge with the town walls, borrowing a section of stonework or a tower or both for structural and symbolic purposes.