GLENDALOUGH MONASTERY
Glendalough, County Wicklow


Gatehouse

Glendalough, the Irish for "The Valley of the Two Lakes", was originally founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Kevin, born in 498, is said to be a descendant from the House of Leinster but rejected his life of privilege to pursue a more spiritual calling. After spending some time living in a cave in the Wicklow Mountains, Kevin eventually founded a monastery in the valley situated between two lakes. This monastery was to become one of Ireland's most notable centers of learning which, at its height of popularity, once housed over 200 monks and 2000 students!

Many legends have built up around Kevin over the years, like that he'd lived to be 120 years old when he died in

618. But one of the most popular tale claims that while meditating one day, Kevin was sitting in a tree when a blackbird came to sit in his outstretched hand. The bird laid an egg there and the saint took this as a sign from God and remained with an outstretch hand until the egg hatched and the bird flew away.

St Kevin's Kitchen

The monastery today encompasses several buildings including:

St. Kevin's Kitchen - built in the 11th century. This was in fact an oratory and not a kitchen and is most noted for its belfry and steep pitched roof.
St. Kevin's Cell - situated on a rocky spur above the Upper Lake. This is a beehive shaped structure where it is thought to have been where Kevin lived.
The Priest's House - stands in the center of one of the original burial grounds in the monastery. It is so named because these grounds buried the clergy only.
The Gatehouse (photo top) - the original main entrance into the monastery. All that remains of it today are the original double arches, which you will pass through on entering the grounds yourself. As you enter you will see on your right side a carved stone tablet imbedded into the stone wall. The carving is of a cross denoted the monastery as a sanctuary from the outside world. That didn't stop the monastery from being sacked over the years though.
St. Mary's Church - still shows traces of its Romanesque architecture and is one of the earliest churches on the site.

Garden Gate, near Round Tower
The Cathedral - built in the 12th century, is the largest of the remaining ruins. The roofless church dominates the center of the main graveyard.
Kevin's Cross - built in the 12th century and is one of the finest examples of Celtic High Crosses on the monastery grounds today.


Round Tower
The Round Tower - by far the most recognizable structure on the entire site. It stands 33 meters (110 feet) and is one of the finest of its kind in Ireland. Its cap was rebuilt in the 1870's using its original stones which were found inside the tower.
Teampall-na-Skellig, "Church on the Rock" - cannot be reached on foot, but can be viewed from the south side of the Upper Lake. Teampall-na-Skellig is said to have been built on the site of the first church founded by St. Kevin.
St. Kevin's Bed - also unreachable byfoot but visible from the Upper Lake. It's little more than a small cave on a rocky ledge overlooking the Upper Lake. One of the other legends about St. Kevin takes place in this place. It's said that Kevin rejected the advances of a naked woman by tossing her into the lake! Legend goes on to tell that her spirit lives in the lake in the form of a water serpent known as the "Monster of the Upper Lake".
Reefert Church - a very simple Romanesque church on the hillside just above Poulanass Waterfall. The name is thought to be a corrupted version of the Irish Righ Fearta, meaning "the burial place of the kings".