The Clock Gate straddles Youghal's main street and is one of the most notable of Youghal's heritage features. There has been a tower on this site since the first construction of the town walls in 1275.

However the current tower dates from 1777, the original being the Trinity Castle (also called the iron gate) and which like the Clock Tower were used as the main entrance to the town. 

At first three stories high, it's use doubled as a gateway into the town and as a gaol for rebels and prisioners. The Council of Youghal was forced to add the forth storey due to the number of prisioners in 1787. Torture was routine with floggings and beatings or it could also be used as an execution scaffold such as during the 1798 rebellion when more than twenty prisoners were recorded as being hung from it's walls and windows.

The corners are faced with cut limestone and the crown adorned with a clock and weathervane. The old jail steps run from the North Main Street side of the Clock Gate northwards towards the town walls.