Glendalough
Encyclopedia
Glendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow
, Ireland
. It is renowned for its Early Medieval
monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin
, a hermit
priest
, and partly destroyed in 1398
by English troops.
, studied as a boy under the care of three holy men, Eoghan, Lochan, and Eanna. During this time, he went to Glendalough. He was to return later, with a small group of monk
s to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'. Kevin's writings discuss his fighting "knights" at Glendalough; scholars today believe this refers to his process of self-examination and his personal temptations. His fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618. For six centuries afterwards, Glendalough flourished and the Irish Annals
contain references to the deaths of abbot
s and raids on the settlement.
At the Synod
of Rath Breasail in 1111, Glendalough was designated as one of the two diocese
s of North Leinster.
The Book of Glendalough
was written there about 1131.
St. Laurence O'Toole
, born in 1128, became Abbot of Glendalough
and was well known for his sanctity and hospitality. Even after his appointment as Archbishop of Dublin
in 1162, he returned occasionally to Glendalough, to the solitude of St. Kevin's Bed. He died in Eu
, in Normandy in 1180.
In 1214, the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin
were united. From that time onwards, the cultural and ecclesiastical status of Glendalough diminished. The destruction of the settlement by English forces in 1398
left it a ruin but it continued as a church of local importance and a place of pilgrimage
.
Glendalough features on the 1598 map "A Modern Depiction of Ireland, One of the British Isles" by Abraham Ortelius
as "Glandalag".
Descriptions of Glendalough from the 18th and 19th centuries include references to occasions of "riotous assembly" on the feast of St. Kevin on 3 June.
The present remains in Glendalough tell only a small part of its story. The monastery in its heyday included workshops, areas for manuscript
writing and copying, guest houses, an infirmary, farm buildings and dwellings for both the monks and a large lay population. The buildings which survive probably date from between the 10th and 12th centuries.
in the Catholic Church. It is used for bishops who hold no ordinary
power of their own and thus are titular bishop
s.
The Gateway to the monastic city of Glendalough is one of the most important monuments, now totally unique in Ireland. It was originally two-storied with two fine, granite
arch
es. The antae or projecting walls at each end suggest that it had a timber
roof. Inside the gateway, in the west wall, is a cross-inscribed stone. This denoted sanctuary
, the boundary of the area of refuge. The paving of the causeway
in the monastic city is still preserved in part but very little remains of the enclosure wall.
The Round Tower
This fine tower, built of mica-slate
interspersed with granite
is about 30 metres high, with an entrance 3.5 metres from the base. The conical roof was rebuilt in 1876 using the original stones. The tower originally had six timber floors, connected by ladders. The four storeys above entrance level are each lit by a small window; while the top storey has four windows facing the cardinal compass points
. Round towers
, landmarks for approaching visitors, were built as bell tower
s, but also served on occasion as store-houses and as places of refuge in times of attack.
The Cathedral
The largest and most imposing of the buildings at Glendalough, the cathedral
had several phases of construction, the earliest, consisting of the present nave
with its antae. The large mica-shist
stones which can be seen up to the height of the square-headed west doorway were re-used from an earlier smaller church. The chancel
and sacristy
date from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The chancel arch and east window were finely decorated, through many of the stones are now missing. The north doorway to the nave also dates from this period. Under the southern window of the chancel is an ambry
or wall cupboard and a piscina
, a basin used for washing the sacred vessels. A few metres south of the cathedral an early cross of local granite, with an unpierced ring, is commonly known as St. Kevin's Cross.
The Priests' House
Almost totally reconstructed from the original stones, based on a 1779 sketch made by Beranger, the Priests' House is a small Romanesque
building, with a decorative arch at the east end. It gets its name from the practice of interring priests there in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its original purpose is unknown although it may have been used to house relics of St. Kevin
.
St. Kevin's Church or "Kitchen"
This stone-roofed building originally had a nave only, with entrance at the west end and a small round-headed window in the east gable. The upper part of the window can be seen above what became the chancel arch, when the chancel (now missing) and the sacristy were added later. The steep roof, formed of overlapping stones, is supported internally by a semi-circular vault. Access to the croft or roof chamber was through a rectangular opening towards the western end of the vault. The church also had a timber first floor. The belfry with its conical cap and four small windows rises from the west end of the stone roof in the form of a miniature round tower.
St. Kieran's Church
The remains of this nave-and-chancel church were uncovered in 1875. The church probably commemorates St. Kieran, the founder of Clonmacnoise
, a monastic settlement that had associations with Glendalough during the 10th century.
St. Mary's or Our Lady's Church
One of the earliest and best constructed of the churches, St. Mary's or Our Lady's Church consists of a nave with a later chancel. Its granite west doorway with an architrave
, has inclined jambs and a massive lintel. The under-side of the lintel is inscribed with an unusual saltire
or x-shaped cross. The East window is round-headed, with a hood mould
ing and two very worn carved heads on the outside.
Trinity Church
A simple nave-and-chancel church, with a fine chancel arch. Trinity Church is beside the main road. A square-headed doorway in the west gable leads into a later annexe, possibly a sacristy. A Round Tower or belfry was constructed over a vault in this chamber. This fell in a storm in 1818. The doorway inserted in the south wall of the nave also dates from this period. Projecting corbel
s at the gables would have carried the verge timbers of the roof.
St. Saviour's Church
The most recent of the Glendalough churches, St. Saviour's was built in the 12th century, probably at the time of St. Laurence O'Toole. The nave and chancel with their fine decorate stones were restored in the 1870s using stones found on the site. The Romanesque chancel arch has three orders, with highly ornamented capitals. The east window has two round-headed lights. Its decorated features include a serpent, a lion, and two birds holding a human head between their beaks. A staircase in the eastern wall leading from an adjoining domestic building would have given access to a room over the chancel.
Situated in a grove of trees, this nave-and-chancel church dates from around 1100. Most of the surrounding walls are modern. The name derives from Righ Fearta, the burial place of the Kings. The church, built in simple style, has a granite doorway with sloping jambs and flat lintel and a granite chancel arch. The projecting corbels at each gable carried verge timbers for the roof. East of the church are two crosses of note, one with an elaborate interlace
pattern. On the other side of the Poulanass River, close to Reefert are the remains of another small church.
St. Kevin's Cell
Built on a rocky spur over the lake, this stone structure was 3.6 metres in diameter with walls 0.9 metres thick and a doorway on the east side. Only the foundations survive today and it is possible that the cell had a stone-corbelled roof, similar to the beehive huts
on Skellig Michael
, County Kerry
.
The "Caher"
This stone-walled circular enclosure on the level ground between the two lakes is 20 metres in diameter and is of unknown date. Close by, are several crosses, apparently used as stations on the pilgrim's route.
Temple-na-Skellig and St. Kevin's Bed
This small rectangular church on the southern shore of the Upper Lake is accessible only by boat, via a series of steps from the landing stage. West of the church is a raised platform with stone enclosure walls, where dwelling huts probably stood. The church, partly rebuilt in the 12th century, has a granite doorway with inclined jambs. At the east gable is an inscribed Latin Cross together with several plain grave slabs and three small crosses. Close by is St. Kevin's Bed, a cave in the rock face about 8 metres above the level of the Upper Lake and reputedly a retreat for St. Kevin and later for St. Laurence O'Toole. Partly man-made, it runs back 2 metres into the rock.
by a glacier
which left a moraine
across the valley mouth. The Poulanass river, which plunges into the valley from the south, created a delta
, which eventually divided the original lake in two.
woodland. Much of this was formerly coppiced
(cut to the base at regular intervals) to produce wood, charcoal
and bark. In the springtime, the oakwood floor is carpeted with a display of bluebells
, wood sorrel
and wood anemones
. Other common plants are woodrush
, bracken
, polypody fern
and various species of moss
es. The understorey is largely of holly
, hazel
and mountain ash
.
At the west end of the Upper Lake lie the ruins of an abandoned miners' village normally accessible only by foot. The mining
of lead
took place here from 1850
until about 1957 but the mines in the valley of Glendalough were smaller and less important than those around the Glendasan Valley, from which they are separated by Camaderry Mountain
. In 1859
the Glendasan and Glendalough mines were connected with each other by a series of adit
s, now flooded, through the mountain. This made it easier to transport ore
from Glendalough and process it there.
. They all begin at an information office located near the Upper Lake where maps are available to purchase. There are also a number of guided walk options, with companies such as Walkabout Wicklow offering fully guided tours of the Spinc Walk, the most popular trail in Glendalough.
The Wicklow Way
, a long distance waymarked
walking trail
, passes through Glendalough on its way from Rathfarnham
in the north to its southerly point of Clonegal
in County Carlow
.
Rock Climbing
Glendalough's granite
cliffs, situated on the hillside above the north-western end of the valley, have been a popular rock-climbing location since the first climbs were established in 1948. The current guidebook
, published in 1993, lists about 110 routes, at all grades
up to E5/6a, though several more climbs, mainly in the high grades, have been recorded since then.
The climbs vary between one and four pitches
, and up to over 100m in length. There are several sectors:
The quality of the climbing along with the variety of grades attracts climbers of all standards to Glendalough, and makes it a favourite destination for Dublin climbers in particular. The Irish Mountaineering Club
has operated a climbing hut in the area since the 1950s. Below the crag is an extensive boulder
field. This is a popular location for bouldering
activities, the boulders within easy reach of the path being especially popular.
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is renowned for its Early Medieval
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin
Kevin of Glendalough
Saint Cóemgen , popularly anglicized to Kevin is an Irish saint who was known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.-Life:...
, a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, and partly destroyed in 1398
1398 in Ireland
-Events:*20 July - Death of Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March at the Battle of Kells in the war against the Leinster Irish....
by English troops.
History of Glendalough
Kevin, a descendant of one of the ruling families in LeinsterLeinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, studied as a boy under the care of three holy men, Eoghan, Lochan, and Eanna. During this time, he went to Glendalough. He was to return later, with a small group of monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
s to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'. Kevin's writings discuss his fighting "knights" at Glendalough; scholars today believe this refers to his process of self-examination and his personal temptations. His fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618. For six centuries afterwards, Glendalough flourished and the Irish Annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
contain references to the deaths of abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
s and raids on the settlement.
At the Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of Rath Breasail in 1111, Glendalough was designated as one of the two diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s of North Leinster.
The Book of Glendalough
The Book of Glendalough
Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502 is a medieval Irish manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the two other works being the Lebor na hUidre and the Book of...
was written there about 1131.
St. Laurence O'Toole
Lorcán Ua Tuathail
Lorcán Ua Tuathail, also known as St Laurence O'Toole, was born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland, in 1128, and died at Eu, Normandy, France, on 14 November 1180; he was canonized in 1225 by Pope Honorius III.-Early life:...
, born in 1128, became Abbot of Glendalough
Abbot of Glendalough
The Abbot of Glendalough was the head of the monastery at Glendalough, founded by Saint Kevin in the early sixth century, which is in modern-day County Wicklow, Ireland. After the death of Saint Kevin, the abbots bore the title "Comarbai Cóemgein"...
and was well known for his sanctity and hospitality. Even after his appointment as Archbishop of Dublin
Archbishop of Dublin (Roman Catholic)
The Archbishop of Dublin is the title of the senior cleric who presides over the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Church of Ireland has a similar role, heading the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. In both cases, the Archbishop is also Primate of Ireland...
in 1162, he returned occasionally to Glendalough, to the solitude of St. Kevin's Bed. He died in Eu
Eu, Seine-Maritime
Eu is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.Eu is located near the coast in the eastern part of the department, near the border with Picardie.Its inhabitants are known as the Eudois.-Geography:...
, in Normandy in 1180.
In 1214, the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dublin, , is a Roman Catholic archdiocese in eastern Ireland centred around the republic's capital city – Dublin. The see of Dublin was raised to the status of a Metropolitan Province by the Synod of Kells in 1152. Its jurisdiction includes much of the Province of...
were united. From that time onwards, the cultural and ecclesiastical status of Glendalough diminished. The destruction of the settlement by English forces in 1398
1398 in Ireland
-Events:*20 July - Death of Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March at the Battle of Kells in the war against the Leinster Irish....
left it a ruin but it continued as a church of local importance and a place of pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
.
Glendalough features on the 1598 map "A Modern Depiction of Ireland, One of the British Isles" by Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius
thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) thumb|250px|Abraham Ortelius by [[Peter Paul Rubens]]Abraham Ortelius (Abraham Ortels) (April 14, 1527 – June 28,exile in England to take...
as "Glandalag".
Descriptions of Glendalough from the 18th and 19th centuries include references to occasions of "riotous assembly" on the feast of St. Kevin on 3 June.
The present remains in Glendalough tell only a small part of its story. The monastery in its heyday included workshops, areas for manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
writing and copying, guest houses, an infirmary, farm buildings and dwellings for both the monks and a large lay population. The buildings which survive probably date from between the 10th and 12th centuries.
Titular See
Glendalough is currently a titular seeTitular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
in the Catholic Church. It is used for bishops who hold no ordinary
Ordinary
In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...
power of their own and thus are titular bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
s.
Titular Bishops
- Raymond D'Mello (20 December 1969 - 24 November 1971)
- Marian Przykucki (12 December 1973 - 15 June 1981)
- Donal MurrayDonal MurrayDonal Brendan Murray was the Roman Catholic Bishop of Limerick from 1996 to 2009. He had previously served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Dublin diocese-Early life and ordination:...
(4 March 1982 - 10 February 1996) - Diarmuid MartinDiarmuid MartinDiarmuid Martin is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland. He was born in Dublin.-Early life and education:...
(5 December 1998 - 3 May 2003 ) - Guy SansaricqGuy SansaricqGuy Sansaricq was born in Jérémie, Haiti, into a Catholic family. He attended the seminary of the Jeremie Diocese for five years, after which he received a scholarship to St. Paul's Pontifical Seminary in Ottawa, Canada, where he studied philosophy and theology for seven years...
(6 June 2006 - )
Monuments in the Lower Valley
The GatewayThe Gateway to the monastic city of Glendalough is one of the most important monuments, now totally unique in Ireland. It was originally two-storied with two fine, granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es. The antae or projecting walls at each end suggest that it had a timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
roof. Inside the gateway, in the west wall, is a cross-inscribed stone. This denoted sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
, the boundary of the area of refuge. The paving of the causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
in the monastic city is still preserved in part but very little remains of the enclosure wall.
The Round Tower
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
interspersed with granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
is about 30 metres high, with an entrance 3.5 metres from the base. The conical roof was rebuilt in 1876 using the original stones. The tower originally had six timber floors, connected by ladders. The four storeys above entrance level are each lit by a small window; while the top storey has four windows facing the cardinal compass points
Cardinal direction
The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the directions of north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials: N, E, S, W. East and west are at right angles to north and south, with east being in the direction of rotation and west being directly opposite. Intermediate...
. Round towers
Irish round tower
Irish round towers , Cloigthithe – literally "bell house") are early medieval stone towers of a type found mainly in Ireland, with three in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man...
, landmarks for approaching visitors, were built as bell tower
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
s, but also served on occasion as store-houses and as places of refuge in times of attack.
The Cathedral
The largest and most imposing of the buildings at Glendalough, the cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
had several phases of construction, the earliest, consisting of the present nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
with its antae. The large mica-shist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
stones which can be seen up to the height of the square-headed west doorway were re-used from an earlier smaller church. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
and sacristy
Sacristy
A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...
date from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The chancel arch and east window were finely decorated, through many of the stones are now missing. The north doorway to the nave also dates from this period. Under the southern window of the chancel is an ambry
Almery
Almery, aumbrie, or ambry , in architecture, is a recess in the wall of a church, sometimes square-headed, and sometimes arched over, and closed with a door like a cupboard...
or wall cupboard and a piscina
Piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. Roman Catholics usually refer to the drain, and by extension, the basin, as the sacrarium...
, a basin used for washing the sacred vessels. A few metres south of the cathedral an early cross of local granite, with an unpierced ring, is commonly known as St. Kevin's Cross.
The Priests' House
Almost totally reconstructed from the original stones, based on a 1779 sketch made by Beranger, the Priests' House is a small Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
building, with a decorative arch at the east end. It gets its name from the practice of interring priests there in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its original purpose is unknown although it may have been used to house relics of St. Kevin
Kevin of Glendalough
Saint Cóemgen , popularly anglicized to Kevin is an Irish saint who was known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.-Life:...
.
St. Kevin's Church or "Kitchen"
St. Kieran's Church
The remains of this nave-and-chancel church were uncovered in 1875. The church probably commemorates St. Kieran, the founder of Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise
The monastery of Clonmacnoise is situated in County Offaly, Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone....
, a monastic settlement that had associations with Glendalough during the 10th century.
St. Mary's or Our Lady's Church
One of the earliest and best constructed of the churches, St. Mary's or Our Lady's Church consists of a nave with a later chancel. Its granite west doorway with an architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
, has inclined jambs and a massive lintel. The under-side of the lintel is inscribed with an unusual saltire
Saltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
or x-shaped cross. The East window is round-headed, with a hood mould
Hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, also called a label mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater...
ing and two very worn carved heads on the outside.
Trinity Church
A simple nave-and-chancel church, with a fine chancel arch. Trinity Church is beside the main road. A square-headed doorway in the west gable leads into a later annexe, possibly a sacristy. A Round Tower or belfry was constructed over a vault in this chamber. This fell in a storm in 1818. The doorway inserted in the south wall of the nave also dates from this period. Projecting corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s at the gables would have carried the verge timbers of the roof.
St. Saviour's Church
The most recent of the Glendalough churches, St. Saviour's was built in the 12th century, probably at the time of St. Laurence O'Toole. The nave and chancel with their fine decorate stones were restored in the 1870s using stones found on the site. The Romanesque chancel arch has three orders, with highly ornamented capitals. The east window has two round-headed lights. Its decorated features include a serpent, a lion, and two birds holding a human head between their beaks. A staircase in the eastern wall leading from an adjoining domestic building would have given access to a room over the chancel.
Monuments near the Upper Lake
Reefert ChurchSituated in a grove of trees, this nave-and-chancel church dates from around 1100. Most of the surrounding walls are modern. The name derives from Righ Fearta, the burial place of the Kings. The church, built in simple style, has a granite doorway with sloping jambs and flat lintel and a granite chancel arch. The projecting corbels at each gable carried verge timbers for the roof. East of the church are two crosses of note, one with an elaborate interlace
Interlace (visual arts)
In the visual arts, interlace is a decorative element found in medieval art. In interlace, bands or portions of other motifs are looped, braided, and knotted in complex geometric patterns, often to fill a space. Islamic interlace patterns and Celtic knotwork share similar patterns, suggesting a...
pattern. On the other side of the Poulanass River, close to Reefert are the remains of another small church.
St. Kevin's Cell
Built on a rocky spur over the lake, this stone structure was 3.6 metres in diameter with walls 0.9 metres thick and a doorway on the east side. Only the foundations survive today and it is possible that the cell had a stone-corbelled roof, similar to the beehive huts
Beehive house
A beehive house is a building made from a circle of stones topped with a domed roof. The name comes from the similarity in shape to a straw beehive.The ancient Bantu used this type of house, which was made with mud, poles, and cow dung....
on Skellig Michael
Skellig Michael
Skellig Michael , also known as Great Skellig, is a steep rocky island in the Atlantic Ocean about 9 miles from the coast of County Kerry, Ireland. It is the larger of the two Skellig Islands...
, County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
.
The "Caher"
This stone-walled circular enclosure on the level ground between the two lakes is 20 metres in diameter and is of unknown date. Close by, are several crosses, apparently used as stations on the pilgrim's route.
Temple-na-Skellig and St. Kevin's Bed
This small rectangular church on the southern shore of the Upper Lake is accessible only by boat, via a series of steps from the landing stage. West of the church is a raised platform with stone enclosure walls, where dwelling huts probably stood. The church, partly rebuilt in the 12th century, has a granite doorway with inclined jambs. At the east gable is an inscribed Latin Cross together with several plain grave slabs and three small crosses. Close by is St. Kevin's Bed, a cave in the rock face about 8 metres above the level of the Upper Lake and reputedly a retreat for St. Kevin and later for St. Laurence O'Toole. Partly man-made, it runs back 2 metres into the rock.
Geography
The valley was formed during the last ice ageIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
by a glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
which left a moraine
Moraine
A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past glacial maximum. This debris may have been plucked off a valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have...
across the valley mouth. The Poulanass river, which plunges into the valley from the south, created a delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
, which eventually divided the original lake in two.
Vegetation and Natural Resources
Glendalough is surrounded by semi-natural oakOak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
woodland. Much of this was formerly coppiced
Coppicing
Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which takes advantage of the fact that many trees make new growth from the stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level...
(cut to the base at regular intervals) to produce wood, charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
and bark. In the springtime, the oakwood floor is carpeted with a display of bluebells
Common Bluebell
Hyacinthoides non-scripta, commonly known as the common bluebell, is a spring-flowering bulbous perennial plant. -Taxonomy:...
, wood sorrel
Oxalis
Oxalis is by far the largest genus in the wood-sorrel family Oxalidaceae: of the approximately 900 known species in the Oxalidaceae, 800 belong here...
and wood anemones
Anemone nemorosa
Anemone nemorosa is an early-spring flowering plant in the genus Anemone in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Europe. Common names include wood anemone, windflower, thimbleweed and smell fox, an allusion to the musky smell of the leaves...
. Other common plants are woodrush
Luzula
Luzula is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants the family Juncaceae, with a cosmopolitan distribution, the highest species diversity being in temperate Asia and Europe....
, bracken
Bracken
Bracken are several species of large, coarse ferns of the genus Pteridium. Ferns are vascular plants that have alternating generations, large plants that produce spores and small plants that produce sex cells . Brackens are in the family Dennstaedtiaceae, which are noted for their large, highly...
, polypody fern
Polypodiaceae
Polypodiaceae is a family of polypod ferns, which includes more than 60 genera divided into several tribes and containing around 1,000 species. Nearly all are epiphytes, but some are terrestrial.-Description:...
and various species of moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
es. The understorey is largely of holly
Holly
Ilex) is a genus of 400 to 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. The species are evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones world wide....
, hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
and mountain ash
Rowan
The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or small trees in genus Sorbus of family Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the mountains of western China and the Himalaya, where numerous apomictic microspecies...
.
At the west end of the Upper Lake lie the ruins of an abandoned miners' village normally accessible only by foot. The mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
of lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
took place here from 1850
1850 in Ireland
-Events:* March 31 - The paddle steamer , bound from Cork to London, sinks in the English Channel with the loss of all 250 on board.* Crumlin Road Courthouse in Belfast is completed.-Births:...
until about 1957 but the mines in the valley of Glendalough were smaller and less important than those around the Glendasan Valley, from which they are separated by Camaderry Mountain
Camaderry
Camaderry is a mountain in the Wicklow Mountains, just south of the Wicklow Gap in County Wicklow, which runs over the gap between it and Tonelagee Mountain...
. In 1859
1859 in Ireland
-Events:* Irish general election.* The Irish Times is founded.* Ulster Hall, concert venue in Belfast, is built.-Births:*3 January - Maurice Healy, lawyer, politician and MP .*30 January - Tony Mullane, Major League Baseball player ....
the Glendasan and Glendalough mines were connected with each other by a series of adit
Adit
An adit is an entrance to an underground mine which is horizontal or nearly horizontal, by which the mine can be entered, drained of water, and ventilated.-Construction:...
s, now flooded, through the mountain. This made it easier to transport ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
from Glendalough and process it there.
Recreation
There are many walking trails of varying difficulty around Glendalough. Within the valley itself there are nine colour-coded walking trails maintained by Wicklow Mountains National ParkWicklow Mountains National Park
Wicklow Mountains National Park is a protected area in County Wicklow, Ireland, one of six national parks in the country. The park is located in the Wicklow Mountains a short distance south of Dublin...
. They all begin at an information office located near the Upper Lake where maps are available to purchase. There are also a number of guided walk options, with companies such as Walkabout Wicklow offering fully guided tours of the Spinc Walk, the most popular trail in Glendalough.
The Wicklow Way
Wicklow Way
The Wicklow Way is a long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the Irish Sports...
, a long distance waymarked
Waymarking
Waymarking is an activity where people locate and log interesting locations around the world, usually with a GPS receiver and a digital camera. Waymarking differs from geocaching in that there is no physical container to locate at the given coordinates. Waymarking identifies points of interest for...
walking trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
, passes through Glendalough on its way from Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...
in the north to its southerly point of Clonegal
Clonegal
Clonegal, officially Clonegall , is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, 5 km from Bunclody, County Wexford, 22 km from Carlow and 17 km from the proposed interchange of the N9 and N80 roads at Rathcrogue. It is just over a mile north of...
in County Carlow
County Carlow
County Carlow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Carlow, which lies on the River Barrow. Carlow County Council is the local authority for the county...
.
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
cliffs, situated on the hillside above the north-western end of the valley, have been a popular rock-climbing location since the first climbs were established in 1948. The current guidebook
Climbing guidebook
Climbing guidebooks are used by rock climbers to find the location of climbing routes at crags or on mountains. Guidebooks also offer condensed information about local restaurants, bars and camping areas; often include sections on geology and local climbing history; and may contain many pictures to...
, published in 1993, lists about 110 routes, at all grades
Grade (climbing)
In rock climbing, mountaineering and other climbing disciplines, climbers give a climbing grade to a route that concisely describes the difficulty and danger of climbing the route...
up to E5/6a, though several more climbs, mainly in the high grades, have been recorded since then.
The climbs vary between one and four pitches
Pitch (vertical space)
-Climbing:In rock climbing and ice climbing, a pitch is a steep section of a route that requires a rope between two belays, as part of a climbing system...
, and up to over 100m in length. There are several sectors:
- Twin Buttress, a large buttress divided in the middle by a seasonal waterfall, which contains the most popular climbs. This area is approached via the zig-zag path at the head of the valley.
- The Upper Cliffs, a band of cliffs high up on the hillside east of Twin Buttress.
- Acorn Buttress, a small buttress just below Twin Buttress, which is a popular base-camp location.
- Hobnail Buttress, a small buttress with some easy climbing, on the hillside one kilometre to the east.
The quality of the climbing along with the variety of grades attracts climbers of all standards to Glendalough, and makes it a favourite destination for Dublin climbers in particular. The Irish Mountaineering Club
Irish Mountaineering Club
The Irish Mountaineering Club is a mountaineering club based in County Wicklow, Ireland, although most of its members come from the Dublin Region. Its activities encompass all aspects of mountaineering, but its climbing activities are most prominent...
has operated a climbing hut in the area since the 1950s. Below the crag is an extensive boulder
Boulder
In geology, a boulder is a rock with grain size of usually no less than 256 mm diameter. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive....
field. This is a popular location for bouldering
Bouldering
Bouldering is a style of rock climbing undertaken without a rope and normally limited to very short climbs over a crash pad so that a fall will not result in serious injury. It is typically practiced on large natural boulders or artificial boulders in gyms and outdoor urban areas...
activities, the boulders within easy reach of the path being especially popular.
See also
- Abbot of GlendaloughAbbot of GlendaloughThe Abbot of Glendalough was the head of the monastery at Glendalough, founded by Saint Kevin in the early sixth century, which is in modern-day County Wicklow, Ireland. After the death of Saint Kevin, the abbots bore the title "Comarbai Cóemgein"...
- Bishop of GlendaloughBishop of GlendaloughThe Bishop of Glendalough was an episcopal title which took its name after the monastery at Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland. An Irish version of the place name, Glenndálocha, is now used for a titular see.-History:...
- Irish round towerIrish round towerIrish round towers , Cloigthithe – literally "bell house") are early medieval stone towers of a type found mainly in Ireland, with three in Scotland and one on the Isle of Man...
- Saint KevinKevin of GlendaloughSaint Cóemgen , popularly anglicized to Kevin is an Irish saint who was known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland.-Life:...
- List of abbeys and priories in County Wicklow
- List of climbing areas in Ireland