30 Jun Glendalough
A picturesque valley in the Wicklow Hills.
Glendalough is……according to its name……the valley of the two lakes…..but it is also the valley of two saints.
These are Kevin, a hermit who died in 618 and around whose grave a famous monastery was later built, and Laurence O’Toole, an abbot who died in 1182 and was canonized in 1226.
The latter may have erected some of the Roman~style buildings still surviving in the valley.
The round tower, just under one hundred feet high, was restored in 1876 and is one of the best preserved in the country.
The cathedral is the second largest pre~Norman church in Ireland.
Glendalough was one of Ireland’s greatest places of pilgrimages until Cardinal Cullen banned them in 1862 because of too much ” drink and debauchery. ”
Why not see it on Ireland tours…..but take it easy on the drink and debauchery…..