Glendalough

On the first full day of our trip to Ireland, we visited Glendalough, the ruins of a monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin. I went there about 20 years ago on my first trip to Ireland. I had never heard of St. Kevin before, and the main thing I remember about that day was all the snickering I did when I realized my older brother Kevin was named after a saint. This time I was a bit more mature.

Clockwise from top left: view of the cemetery, detail from the Cathedral, St. Kevin's Kitchen in the background, The Round Tower,  view of the Tower from the Cathedral, St. Kevin's Cross, flowers, intact rooves of St. Kevin's Kitchen, center: another view of St. Kevin's Kitchen.

The night before our visit, a woman sitting near me in a Dublin restaurant said it was the scariest cemetery she had ever seen.  I didn’t remember it that way, but it had been so long I was curious to see it now. The first change I noticed was the newish visitor center, where you can get an overview of the site’s history and watch a multilingual audiovisual show.

The settlement, dating from the 6^th century, features churches and dwellings and is dominated by The Round Tower. The tower is about 98 feet high and was built as a bell tower and lookout point, and was probably used as a place of refuge during attacks. The roof was rebuilt in 1876. The Cathedral is the largest building in the settlement. Because it no longer has a roof, it affords some interesting views of the rest of the site.  Just south of the Cathedral stands St. Kevin's Cross, the oldest Celtic cross at Glendalough. Still further south is St. Kevin's Kitchen, which is remarkably preserved and even has its original roof.

Maybe it was all the flowers, sunshine and green vegetation, but those tumbling tombstones didn't scare me at all. And seeing the brightly-colored “St. Kevin’s Kitchen” and “Kevin’s Cones” food stands just outside the entrance cracked me up. OK, maybe I’m not so mature after all.

Comments

[Jenny N]

Awww. Glendalough...looks just as I remember it. hehe...and how it has looked for the past some hundred years I am sure. Great pictures Jennifer. When we went last year we didn't do the audiovisual tour (would have liked to) but we just didn't want to pay for the whole group, and the 60-some year old man behind the info. counter seemed to understand this, because after we nixed watching the video I wanted a pamphlet for our tour and he told me what each one cost and spendthrift that I am, I told the girls we would just have to share...I handed him the amount for one pamphlet and he handed me back three pamphlets. So I told him, "oh, I am sorry I just paid for one" and with a twinkle in his eye he said, "yes, you did and there you go." Ah, the Irish were so kind and understanding.

[Jennifer K]

Hi Jenny N, awwww, what a nice memory you have of Ireland! I wonder if that same man was there when I visited Glendalough. The first time I was in Ireland, I spent a whole month there and met so many kind and generous people.
Today I could finally add the picture of the food carts to my post. I tried at least 5 times yesterday and every time my computer would crash! Aaarrgh!

[anne]

Hello Jennifer.. You and Jenny N.. certainly have fond memories of Ireland .. The cemetary doesn't look scary to me either ..looks lovely with all the flowers and greenery.

I don't think much to the "Vans" as we in the UK would call them.. you would of thought that they would have a little cafe or and icecream parlour .. !!

[barbara]

Hi there Jennifer,
You know me a little bit by now, and for me too, anything that is Irish is appealing :)

Glendalough is like a "blast from your past",since were already there.I am not spooked by cemeteries at all,esp the older ones!I do Genealogy so cemeteries are cool places for me!

In the hope to trod the ancestral homeland one day,too.
xx

[barbara]

PS...
I put you on my blogroll,so I can keep up with your posts :)

[Jennifer K]

Hi Anne, I didn't like the food vans either. They were pretty garish. There was a nice hotel right there that must have had a café.

Hi Barbara, thanks for commenting! Thanks for putting me on your blogroll. I need to update my blogroll soon, and will put your blog on it. Hope you get to visit Ireland very soon!