Glendalough and Kilkenny , Ireland – Day 5, Tuesday, August
23, 2022
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St. Kevin's Cross
Glendalough |
Today we begin our tour of the rest of the Republic of
Ireland.
Suzanne and I got everything
packed and went for coffee and a croissant while the guys went to get the
rented car. I’m told that the coffee here is far superior to what we have back
home, possibly because it is freshly pressed coffee.
We’re now on the road, Frank driving a stick
on the left side of the road … he successfully navigated us out of the City and
on the road south to the Wicklow Mountains.
The motorway is four lanes, but when turning toward the mountains, the
back roads are just barely two lanes wide with no shoulders and either brick or
stone walls or vegetation hedges bracketing both sides of the narrow road.
It is only through the few areas of lower
hedges that we glimpse the beautiful terrain.
We stop at Glendalough, meaning Valley of the Two Lakes,
which was a sixth century monastery founded by St. Kevin. It was destroyed by
the English in
1398, and finally abandoned in 1539 during England’s Dissolution
of the Monasteries. There still remain some ruins of the church, an out
building and many grave sites. An old
Celtic cross dedicated to St Kevin stands guard over the site. The tower is
also standing, which would have been used to house the church bells, storage,
but was primarily a place for pilgrims, and a last resort place for refuge
during Viking raids. We then hiked to the lower, then upper lake … and up some
more to a lovely waterfall.
A delicious lunch was
had at the little hotel in town before heading out to Kilkenny, through fields
and mountains, narrow roads and the motorway, stone fenced and/or hedged
fields, many with sheep grazing
or just laying in the sunshine.
The city boasts of its Castle, which was the
seat of the Dukes of Ormonde for 500 years and has been restored to its
Victorian splendor.
It was interesting
to view the stateliness and opulence of the various rooms, but the restored
Long Gallery was amazing.
It has a
hammer beam roof painted with motifs from the Book of Kells and numerous
priceless paintings hang from the walls.
My favorite was a beautiful picture of the Madonna and Child painted in
the 1500s.
After another day of 12,000
steps, dinner and evening drinks, the pillow awaits.
It has been another grateful day meandering
in Ireland.
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