Tour of Ireland

Ireland Day 8 (of 8): Glendalough and Dublin

On our last day in Ireland we visited the scenic Glendalough monastery ruins and Dublin.

Glendalough

Glendalough is 58 kilometers south of Dublin. It is an early Christian monastic site found by St. Kevin in the 6th century. It sits in a beautiful valley with two lakes. The historic ruins include a round tower, stone churches and decorated crosses; most of the buildings date from the 8th to the 12th centuries. Although attacked by the Vikings and English over the centuries, this site survived until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII in 1539. Since our time was limited, we visited only the lower ruins (near the Lower Lake) and did not make it to the Upper Lake and few remaining ruins there. We enjoyed the beautiful natural setting as well as the historic aspects. Glendalough is part of the Heritage Ireland system. For a map of these locations click here.

St. Kevin’s Kitchen (11th century) and round tower at Glendalough.

The Cathedral and graveyard at Glendalough.

Dublin

We then drove north to Dublin, and tried to make the most of our short time there (we had an unplanned overnight stop in Graiguenamanagh due to a rental car breakdown). Dublin is located on the east coast of Ireland (almost directly west of northern Wales), and the River Liffey goes through the heart of town west to east, not unlike the River Thames in London. I would not call Dublin a beautiful city like Paris, but it definitely has its own character, and interesting neighborhoods. Many of the historical sights are on the south side of the river.

The River LIffey in Dublin, looking east.

Street scene in Dublin.

Our main interest was seeing the Book of Kells, housed at Trinity College (on the south side of the River Liffey). Trinity College was founded by Queen Elizabeth I in 1592. The Book of Kells is a richly decorated artistic masterpiece. The manuscript (680 pages) dates from about 806 AD and contains the Four Gospels of the New Testament. It is considered the most important piece of art from the Dark Ages. The Book is kept in a small room in the Treasury of the Library at the University under special glass and lighting to preserve this marvelous work. Next to the Treasury is the Old Library—a 210 ft. long room built in 1732 which contains 200,000 texts on two levels. Unfortunately I could not get pictures of either of these gems.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. “The people’s church” dates from 1270. The Protestant Church of Ireland’s national cathedral.

This cathedral of the Church of Ireland dates from 1186, but was heavily restored in the 1870’s. Lots of interesting historical features, including a huge crypt.

We also walked around the town, visiting Temple Bar (famous pubs and restaurant area), Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral (shown above).

Dublin Castle, with the Record Tower (on right – built in 1226) and Chapel Royal (center – built in 1814). The Record Tower is all that remains of the original castle.

Reference:  DK Eyewitness Travel Ireland 2006

Ireland Day 2: From Limerick to Dingle Peninsula

On our second full day in Ireland we visited King John’s Castle in Limerick, the Village of Adare (and  Desmond Castle), and Ardfert Cathedral, before making our way to the town of Dingle on the Dingle Peninsula.

Our stops on Day 2

Limerick is not a real tourist destination; it’s more of working city, and the third largest in Ireland. King John’s Castle near the center of town looks better from the exterior than the interior. The interior is mainly set up for modern exhibits. The castle was built in 1200 by King John (of Magna Carta fame). It does have a great setting on the River Shannon.

King John’s Castle on the River Shannon

From Limerick we drove south to the little village of Adare, which is considered one of Ireland’s prettiest villages. It is a quaint village with thatched roof houses, with Desmond Castle (often called Adare Castle) on the outskirts, in addition to the famous castle-hotel of Adare Manor, which is one of the “1,000 Places to See Before You Die” in the book by Patricia Schultz (she actually lists 29 sites in the Republic of Ireland, a pretty good share of the 1,000!).

Desmond Castle, Adare

Looking at the Great Hall, Desmond Castle

Ardfert Cathedral is part of the Heritage Ireland system and the Cathedral ruins date from the 12th century, although a monastery was believed to have been founded here in the 6thcentury by St. Brendan the Navigator, who legend says visited the American continent (there is actually some evidence of this in Connecticut, in an archeological site called the “Gungywamp”). There are three medieval churches on the site today, and a short walk away you will find the very substantial ruins of a Franciscan Friary. Ardfert is good for quick stop if you like medieval church buildings. As with many other locations, this site is completely ignored by Rick Steve’s book on Ireland, although he does share some information on St. Brendan.

The intricate Romanesque doorway of the Ardfert Cathedral

Ardfert Cathedral

Franciscan Friary near Ardfert Cathedral

From Ardfert, we drove southwest to the Dingle Peninsula and the town of Dingle, on the southwest side of the peninsula. This drive is quite pretty, with the rolling hills, sheep grazing in the green pastures and views of the sea coast as you get closer to Dingle. A few miles east of Dingle and off the road a mile or so to the south is the little ruin of Minard Castle, a jump-off point in medieval times for sailing to the pilgrimage destination of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. This castle is in a cow pasture, and we treaded lightly to avoid any trespassing issues. The castle sits above a beautiful beach (Storm Beach) and bay.

Minard Castle near the town of Dingle