monastic sites ireland

Improve your English in an enjoyable way: through lessons, conversations, Celtic and archaeological tours, films, lectures and discussions with Islanders. Tuition: Ursula Murray...

The ancients knew a good spot when they saw one. That is why looking at Northern Ireland's historic monuments is a wonderful way to get acquainted with the countryside.....

The present Saint Lazerian's Cathedral is a 13th century building. Nearby is the site of a 7th century monastery and also Lazerian's Holy Well, venerated in the area for more than thirteen hundred years. The small pub in the village, Carey's has been in the same family since 1542....

Remains of the round tower, of the monastery and of the original stream cutting, believed to have been dug personally by St. Molin, who died in 690 AD, are important in a large collection of early monastic remains. The tiny settlement over looks the deep valley of the River Barrow, which is often compared - favourably - with the Rhine....

Of the monastery of Drumcliff, said to have been founded by St Columcille in the sixth century, only the elaborately sculptured High Cross and the base of a Round Tower survive. The former dates possibly from the early years of the eleventh century and is decorated on both faces with scriptural scenes, interlace designs and zoomorphic motifs. Among the biblical episodes depicted are the Crucifixion, Adam and Eve, and Daniel in the Lions' Den. close by is Drumcliff Parish Church, in the g...

This bare and treeless island, often inaccessible because of rough seas and lack of a proper quay, lies 4 miles north-west of Streedagh Point. Charter boat trips leave from Mullaghmore harbour in suitable conditions, the 9-mile crossing taking about 1.5 hours. On the island, abandoned by its small beleaguered population in the 1950s, are a wealth of remains of the early Christian period. The original monastery was founded in the sixth century by St. Molaise and several of the later buildings...

The lake itself is a shallow lagoon separated from the open sea by a shingle bank. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway and is the site of a well known pilgrimage held annually in August. It was the site of an ancient monastery dedicated to Our Lady. The ruins of the Augustinian Priory are still to be seen, as is the Norman tower which leans at a greater angle than the tower at Pisa. The pilgrimage season starts of the 15th August and continues until the 8th September....

Dysert O'Dea is renowned for its wealth of historical and archelogical remains....

A beautifully decorated cross-inscribed pillar standing in an old walled monastic enclosure, which also contains two smaller cross-slabs and the foundations of a number of beehive huts. Extensive excavations also revealed a 'founder's tomb' and a stone oratory preceded by a wooden structure....

Distributed over many acres and extending into adjoining townlands, Carrowmore represents the largest grouping of megalithic monuments in Ireland, and immense Neolithic burial ground where once there may have been more than a hundred tombs. Casual exploration in the last century and present day gravel quarrying in the vicinity have devalued the archaeological potential of the site; but it is still a rewarding place to visit, steeped in atmosphere and evoking a sense of the past.
The s...