Today I thought I would share with you one of the places I am really looking forward to seeing, It is Glendalough, It is located in Wicklow National Park. And it is incredibly beautiful. So, hope you enjoy what I have to share today.
Glendalough
Glendalough, or "The Valley of Two lakes" is a place with which almost everyone is vaguely familiar even before they visit, so famous and iconic are the images of its high round tower. Surrounded by the stillness and splendour of the Wicklow Mountains its easy to see why St. Kevin chose it first as a place to live the austere life of a hermit and later to find what would become one of the most important early Christian monasteries in Europe.
Even before St. Kevin arrived this was a spiritual place and there is good evidence that it was important in pre-Christian Ireland. Near the Eastern shore of the Upper Lake is a bronze age stone fort or caher. Close to the main Monastery site on land recently bought by the Goverment is a series of seven bullaun stones, known as the "Seven fonts", large stones in which cup shaped depressions have been carved. Their purpose is unknown but is thought to be ritualistic in some way and they date to the bronze age or even earlier.
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| Wicklow National Park |
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| St. Kevin's Cave |
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| Whats left of St. Kevin's Cell |
Little is known about the original monastery, which was probably in the area of the upper lake, but it's quickly became a place of pilgrimage to which people flocked in numbers. This is probably why the settlement gradually moved to its current location at the lower lake, which is much more accessible. By the end of the 8th century it was a large and thriving settlement, home to as many as 1000 people and famed as a center of learning throughout Europe. The buildings which survive today were all built between the 8th and 12th century. the best known of these is the 110ft high round tower, which was built approximately 1000 years ago and used as storage and a place of refuge in times of danger.
In the 11th century the small oratory known as St. Kevin's Kitchen (Not sure why it is called this, it was never a kitchen) was built near the lake. The Priest's house, one of the most complete of the other buildings, is in the middle of the oldest part of the graveyard and was the area where priests and monks were traditionally buried. Most of the graves date back centuries some with elaborate and ornately carved gravestones, others, especially the mass graves of those who died during the famine are simple and sad. They say there is one grave of an extraordinary man who died in 1768 at the age of 102! Which is exceptional considering at that time the life expectancy was about 35 years. There would once have been many more buildings and they say there is a model in the visitors center of what the settlement probably looked like. It was known at one time as "The seven Churches of Glendalough" so was undoubtedly a very much larger place than it appears today.
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| St. Kevin's Kitchen |
From almost the beginning Glendalough's powerful position in the Irish Christian world made it the target of attacks by those who feared its power, at first probably local chieftains, later the Norman English. It was attacked many times and its churches and houses were burned or broken, but each time it was rebuilt. During the late 14th century Gaelic leaders in Wicklow had achieved considerable power and were perceived as a threat by the English ruler in Dublin. In 1398 the English attacked Glendalough and comprehensively destroyed it- bringing monastic life there to an end. However its important place in the lives of the Irish was undiminished and it remained a place of pilgrimage, especially around the time of the feast of St. Kevin on June 3rd. While most of the pilgrims were undoubtedly devout, this annual pilgrimage evolved into something of a event and was for a time officially banned by the church. And today some still walk St. Kevin's way, an 18 mile marked route starting in the village of Hollywood and crossing the beautiful Wicklow Way before dropping down into the valley Glendalough.
Well, I hope you enjoyed today's history lesson on Glendalough and St. Kevin. Glendalough is one of the top 5 on my list of places to see. For me there is just something very spiritual about it that has called out to me for as long as I can remember. Mom use to always say that there was something about Ireland that always pulled at your Irish roots. And I firmly believe that. Its a feeling that cannot quite be explained. Its a yearning, a longing for......home. I guess that is the best way I can describe it to you. I have always had this feeling of belonging somewhere other then here. That I don't quite fit into this time and place. And for what ever reason, for something that is beyond me, beyond my putting into words, I think the only time I will ever feel truly "at home and at peace" will be when I am standing there. With my feet firmly planted on Irish soil, when I can put my hands on the ground and feel the energy, smell the damp earthy smell uniquely Ireland will I feel whole and at peace.
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