• Siarl WardEngland Ireland Sweden+DenmarkTraveler
    The Rock of Cashel first views with colorful Arborvitae in the foreground
    The Rock of Cashel ruinsViews of verdant fields and grazing cows surround the elevated hillA large graveyard surrounds the site, with many plots still available.More views from the RockThe living town of Cashel lies not far from the ancient ruinIntrepid viola cling to the rock wallsDaisies in the grassMore tenacious plantsA beautiful variegated maple treeViews from the RockViews of the graveyardA large monument is part of the graveyards, its Celtic cross gone missing long agoCormac's Chapel is one of the earliest, and finest churches in Ireland built in the Romanesque styleCormac's Chapel is undergoing restoration work. It's cemetery brimming with gravesA wide view of the ruined cathedral with its tower still mainly intactOne of many modern gravesFamilies add names throughout generations to their family stoneRuined cathedral and gravesInterior view of the ruin, the roof of the nave the sole remaining ceiling structure

    Rock of Cashel

    June 5 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Set on a dramatic outcrop of limestone in the Golden Vale, The Rock of Cashel, iconic in its historic significance, possesses the most impressive cluster of medieval buildings in Ireland. Among the monuments to be found there is a round tower, a high cross, a Romanesque chapel, a Gothic cathedral, an abbey, the Hall of the Vicars Choral and a fifteenth-century Tower House.

    Originally the seat of the kings of Munster, according to legend St. Patrick himself came here to convert King Aenghus to Christianity. Brian Boru was crowned High King at Cashel in 978 and made it his capital.

    In 1101 the site was granted to the church and Cashel swiftly rose to prominence as one of the most significant centres of ecclesiastical power in the country.

    The surviving buildings are remarkable. Cormac’s Chapel, for example, contains the only surviving Romanesque frescoes in Ireland.

    The Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland’s most spectacular and – deservedly – most visited tourist attractions.    Read more