On my day of departure from Glendalough, I woke early to catch the 7:15 St. Kevin’s coach bus from Glendalough to Dublin. It was very nice to just sit and relax and look at the green countryside and the small towns that we passed through on our way north, back to Dublin.
Dropped off at St. Stephen’s Green, I made my way on foot through the busy city center to the main bus station, Busaras, to catch a Bus Eireen coach bus (the Irish equivalent of Greyhound, but nicer!). Online, I had bought an “Open Road” pass for 6 days of unlimited travel out of 12 consecutive days, which worked out be a little less expensive than buying individual tickets to my planned destinations. Bus Eireen has routes all over Ireland to the major towns and many smaller ones as well. It is an excellent way to travel and eliminates the stress of renting a car and driving on the left!
After two hours of southwesterly travel, out of Dublin and its suburbs and into the beautiful, rolling, agricultural county of Tipperary, the bus arrived at the very pretty town of Cashel, dominated, of course, by the Rock of Cashel.
Built atop a mound of limestone rock that rises dramatically from the Tipperary plain are the ruins of five ecclesiastical buildings. Associated with the High Kings of Munster since the 4th century as a defensive fortress and a place of coronation and ceremony, the rock first became associated with Christianity in 450 AD with the conversion of the Munster king Aenghus by St. Patrick. In 1101, another High King of Munster gifted the land to the Church.
The oldest building on the site is the round tower, build around 1100 AD.
The second oldest building, begun in 1127, is Cormac’s chapel. It was built in the Hiberno-Romanesque style with rounded arches and painted frescoes. Unlike the other buildings which are made of limestone, Cormac’s chapel was built with sandstone which erodes more easily. The scaffolding on site has been in place to act as weatherproofing for the chapel during its repair, restoration, and protection from further damage by weathering.
The next building on site is the large St. Patrick’s Cathedral, built between 1235 and 1270 in the gothic style with high windows and pointed arches.
In the next photo, the tower is on the left, the cathedral in the center, and to the right of the cathedral is part of the remains of a residential castle built for the archbishops.
During a storm sometime in the mid 1800s, after the site had already been abandoned, this large piece of tower fell from the bishops castle onto the ground below. Thunk!
Here are a few other photos from around the site, and of the surrounding countryside.
And here is a collage of celtic designs carved on lichen-covered crosses in the cementary.
I spent quite a long time on the rock. There was an excellent, free guided tour as well as a film, both of which gave alot of historical context to the site. One visitor asked about the modern dates she had seen on some of the gravestones and the guide said that, when the site was given over to the state and deconsecrated in the 1930s, no more burials were to take place. But, the people of the town of Cashel were unhappy about that and negotiated the creation of a registry of their names, and their childrens’ names, whereby persons on the registry had the right to be buried on the rock. The guide added that there are currently only 3 names left on the registry, and so there will be only three more burials on the Rock of Cashel.
After my visit to the Rock of Cashel, I headed down the hill towards the ruins of Hore Abbey, a 12th century Cisctercian monastery which sits abandonded in a field below the Rock of Cashel, surrounded, on the day I visited, by grazing Irish cattle.
Henry the Eight ordered the dissolution of all the Catholic monasteries in his realm when he made himself the head of the Church of England in the 1530s. He rather conveniently confiscated their considerable lands, wealth, and treasures, and ordered that their buildings be ruined.
Here are just a few photos of Hore Abbey. I really like the first one which is of the center of a high vaulted ceiling. I had a quiet time sitting on one of the cloister walls as the rain came and chased away the few others visitors who were there.
Another day filled with history in ancient and beautiful Ireland!
Hi Christine,
It’s Michael here. Michelle H gave me the link to your Ireland blog and I’ve been following it avidly since you started your adventure in my home country. I am certainly learning new things about my homeland and definitely seeing new some new images of places I know. It’s great that you take the time to explore, as there is so much to see and I love to observe how someone from the ‘outside’ sees us and our country. You have captured some great images and it seems the weather has been fairly kind to you. I hope the adventure continues and everyone you meet treats you well. You may already have come across this blessing attributed to St Patrick, but if not, I think its quite apt
An Old Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Travel safely.
Michael
Hi Christine, wow wow wow!! Are you able to transport yourself back in time when you sit amongst the ruins, imagining life as it was in the 12th century? What an adventure you are having. Your pictures are very compelling and I love all that you write. I often think, oh I don’t need to travel anywhere but when I read your blog and see your pictures I want to be there too!
Keep enjoying yourself. You are doing so well and I’m proud of you. See you in August! -G
Such a magical looking place! Gorgeous photographs!