Have a rental car? Drive south into the wild windswept Wicklow Mountains, check out the bogs and visit magical Glendalough.
I don’t know what I expected, but the miles of rolling windswept hills marked by black streaks of peat waiting to be chopped neatly out of the bogs was a surprise. The Wicklow Mountain National Park is 50,600 acres (204.8-square-kilometres) and as we drove through it, we met only a few other lonely cars.
Most of our journey was isolated. The blue sky was huge above us with clouds floating across it, aloft the same winds that rustled the pale grasses. Hiding in those grasses are bluebells, wood sorrel, bracken, ferns and mosses all shading the grasses with their vibrant colors.
I don’t know what I expected, but the miles of rolling windswept hills marked by black streaks of peat waiting to be chopped neatly out of the bogs was a surprise. The Wicklow Mountain National Park is 50,600 acres (204.8-square-kilometres) and as we drove through it, we met only a few other lonely cars.
Most of our journey was isolated. The blue sky was huge above us with clouds floating across it, aloft the same winds that rustled the pale grasses. Hiding in those grasses are bluebells, wood sorrel, bracken, ferns and mosses all shading the grasses with their vibrant colors.
Jim still brags about what he considers a wonderful experience…….Peeing in a bog. As he points out, not very many Americans can claim that distinction! I’m not sure that is actually so unusual!
Darkening the bright fields are stacks of black peat which is fascinating for anyone who has read about historical Ireland. Visions of smoky fires filled our heads and we embarked upon our quest to find a real peat fire to enjoy.
Darkening the bright fields are stacks of black peat which is fascinating for anyone who has read about historical Ireland. Visions of smoky fires filled our heads and we embarked upon our quest to find a real peat fire to enjoy.
Leaving the spartan hills, we eventually entered the deep green forest valley filled with pines, holly, hazel and mountain ash trees, with wild rivers flowing to the south where the lovely ruins of an early Christian monastic settlement can be found.
The Glendalough Valley was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age and the two lakes, from which Glendalough (glen of two lakes) gets its name, were formed when the ice eventually thawed.
The Glendalough Valley was carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age and the two lakes, from which Glendalough (glen of two lakes) gets its name, were formed when the ice eventually thawed.
The recorded history of the wooded valley dates from the 6th century - the dawn of Christianity in Ireland. The Valley is home to one of Ireland’s most impressive monastic sites founded by St. Kevin in the 6th Century.
Kevin, a descendant of one of the ruling families in Leinster, studied at what then must have been the wilds of Glendalough under the care of three holy men. He was to return later, with a small group of monks to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'.
St Kevin’s fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618. For six hundred years afterwards, Glendalough flourished and became an important center for religious learning, but also was a settlement that experienced its share of Viking raids.
Kevin, a descendant of one of the ruling families in Leinster, studied at what then must have been the wilds of Glendalough under the care of three holy men. He was to return later, with a small group of monks to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'.
St Kevin’s fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618. For six hundred years afterwards, Glendalough flourished and became an important center for religious learning, but also was a settlement that experienced its share of Viking raids.
In its heyday, the settlement included not only churches and monastic cells but also workshops, guesthouses, an infirmary, farm buildings and houses. Most of the buildings that survive today date from the 10th through 12th centuries.
Among the ruins of what remains of the small monastic community are the:
Round Tower which sits away from the main group of buildings, and would have been used for storage, and possibly a place for retreat during invasion.
Among the ruins of what remains of the small monastic community are the:
Round Tower which sits away from the main group of buildings, and would have been used for storage, and possibly a place for retreat during invasion.
St. Kevin’s Church, a stone roofed building with a distinctive round belfry with conical cap at the west end.
The cathedral; which is the largest building at Glendalough and was built in several phases from the 10th through the early 13th century.
The Priest’s House; which is a small Romanesque building with a decorative arch at each end. Its original use is unknown, but it may have housed relics of St. Kevin. Its name comes from the practice of burying priests there in the 18th and 19th centuries.
St. Mary's Church, from the 10th century which belonged to the nuns and St. Kieran’s Church; which probably commemorates St. Kieran, the founder of Clonmacnoise, a monastic settlement to the northwest that had associations with Glendalough in the 10th century are also at the site, (Sorry no photos).
The arrival of the Normans in Ireland ended the golden epoch of Glendalough. In 1214 the monastery was destroyed by the invaders and the Diocese of Glendalough was united with the Sea of Dublin. After that, Glendalough declined as a monastic establishment and gradually it became deserted.
The buildings fell into decay and more than 6 hundred years elapsed before a reconstruction program was started in 1878 and began the preservation of what you see today.
The arrival of the Normans in Ireland ended the golden epoch of Glendalough. In 1214 the monastery was destroyed by the invaders and the Diocese of Glendalough was united with the Sea of Dublin. After that, Glendalough declined as a monastic establishment and gradually it became deserted.
The buildings fell into decay and more than 6 hundred years elapsed before a reconstruction program was started in 1878 and began the preservation of what you see today.
RSS Feed