Youghal's town walls are over 700 years old, having witnessed centuries of history and generations of locals come and go. They are the second longest walls in Ireland after those of Derry.

While the town was fortified during Viking times (c. 800 A.D.), most of the construction occurred during Norman times, with King Edward I of England levying a tax for the purpose of constructing a stone wall while also granting a charter to raise funds for their extension and repair in 1275. By 1350, references are made to Youghal as a fine enclosed walled town with 12 towers along the length of the battlements.

Approximately 12 feet high and 4 foot wide, they surrounded the medieval town in its entirity, covering an area from Myrtle Grove through the back of St. Mary's Church, running west from there and curving south towards the main entrance to the town, the Clock Gate. From there they ran south towards the sea before swinging east again to run along by the water front, the Water Arch(Cromwell's Arch), the last surviving entrance to the waterfront. 

Climbing northwards from the jail steps (beside the Clock Gate), to reach the town walls, the first three towers are all medieval, the Banshee Tower, the Montmorenci Tower and the Half Moon Tower. The tower immediately behind St. Mary's Church dates from the nineteenth century and is known as the Tower of 1840.

The town walls can best be viewed from the grounds of St. Mary's Church and College while there is also an external walking path on the outside of the walls.