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Ireland’s southeast has a lot to offer. One of my favorite places on the island is the ancient monastery of Glendalough. In addition to some wonderful historic sights in this corner of Ireland, there are some fine beaches and the weather tends to be less rainy than the west of Ireland.
Glendalough
Nestled in the Wicklow mountains is this gem. Though often crowded this is one thing I recommend no one miss on a visit to Ireland. A tour bus favorite, this can be either a brief stop with a guided tour or a place to spend the day outside exploring the plentiful ancient ruins and stunning scenery. Whichever option you chose, you win.
We chose to eat a picnic lunch in the car park, but there are now a handful of options selling food near the entrance to the monastic site (including the hotel). The car park at the Glendalough Visitor Centre charges €4 per car. On our most recent visit we arrived at 11:40 am on a Saturday morning and there was still plenty of parking.
Unfortunately, due to post-pandemic staffing shortages there were not guided tours of the monastic city as there had been on my previous visits, but we were told if a coach tour arrived (bus tour) we could join. Fortunately, one arrived just after I asked. The tour felt a little shorter than in the past, but was still far better than a self-guided tour. Only because we were with the tour group were we able to enter St. Kevin’s Church – that’s a significant change from my previous visits. If this is the case on your visit, I would strongly recommend waiting for a tour. I hope they are able to address the staffing shortages soon!
Glendalough was founded by St. Kevin in 6th century and soon became an important and influential monastery. Eventually, this became a pilgrimage site (Pattern day is June 3) and seven visits were equal to one visit to Rome.
Entrance gate to the monastic city of Glendalough
The cross inside the main gate indicated that this was holy ground and all inside would be provided sanctuary.
the Round Tower at Glendalough
Local legend holds that anyone who can place both arms completing around St. Kevin’s Cross will receive three wishes.
St. Kevin’s Church
Outside of the monastic city we explored the Green Road in the direction of the two lakes. By the time we had returned the the monastic city we were all tired. I had hoped to see St. Saviour’s Priory (which is is on the Green Road heading away from the lakes) but I was also tired from our walk. All in all we spend three hours here.
St. Kevin’s Church as seen from outside the monastic city.
The woods along the Green Road
Regardless of whether you are looking for a historic sight or a day in the outdoors, this is a wonderful choice. The natural beautiful of this are comes through no matter what weather you have. Even though there will likely be many people around when you visit, it is also clear when a hermit would choose this spot to build his monastery.
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