Page 147 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Ireland

SOUTHEAST IRELAND  145

St Kevin at Glendalough
St Kevin was born in 498, a descendant of the royal house of Leinster.
He rejected his life of privilege, however, choosing to live instead as a
hermit in a cave at Glendalough. He later founded a monastery here,
and went on to create a notable centre of learning
devoted to the care of the sick and the copying
and illumination of manuscripts. St Kevin
attracted many disciples to Glendalough
during his life time, but the monastery
became more celebrated as a place of
pilgrimage after his death in around 618.
Colourful legends about the
saint make up for the dearth of
facts about him. That he lived to
the age of 120 is just one of the
stories told about him. Another tale
claims that one day, when St Kevin was
at prayer, a blackbird laid an egg in one
of his outstretched hands. The saint
Round tower at Glendalough remained in the same position until
it was hatched.
across a field to the west. Some
traces of moulding are visible
outside the east win dow. Follow­ r Avondale House in the 18th century and much
ing the path along the south added to since 1900. There are
bank of the river, you reach the Road map D4. Co Wicklow. Tel 0404 some lovely walks through the
Upper Lake. This is the site of 46111. £ @ to Rathdrum. House: woods, with pleasant views
more monas tic ruins and is also Open Jun–Aug: 11am–5pm daily; along the River Avonmore.
the chief starting point for walks Apr–May & Sep–Oct: 11am–4pm
through the valley and to a number Tue–Sun. Closed Good Fri & 23–28 t Brownshill
Dec. & 0 = 7 limited. Grounds:
of disused lead and zinc mines. Open 8:30am–8:30pm daily.
Situated in a grove not far ∑ heritageisland.com Dolmen
from the Poulanass waterfall are Road map D4. Co Carlow.
the ruins of the Reefert Church, Lying just south of Rathdrum, £ @ to Carlow. Open daily.
a simple nave­and­chancel Avondale House is the birth­
building. Its unusual name is a place of the 19th­century In a field 3 km (2 miles) east of
corruption of Righ Fearta, politician and patriot, Charles Carlow, along the R726, stands
meaning “burial place of the Stewart Parnell (see p47). The a dolmen boasting the biggest
kings”; the church may mark the Georgian mansion is now a capstone in Ireland. Weighing
site of an ancient cemetery. museum dedicated to Parnell a reputed 100 tonnes, this
Near here, on a rocky spur and the fight for Home Rule. massive stone is embedded in
overlooking the Upper Lake, The grounds are open the earth at one end and
stands St Kevin’s Cell, the ruins to the public. Known supported at the other by three
of a beehive­shaped structure as Avondale Forest much smaller stones. Dating
which is thought to have been Park, they include back to 2000 BC, Brownshill
the hermit’s home. an impressive Dolmen is thought to
There are two sites on the arboretum mark the tomb of a
south side of the lake which planted local chieftain. A
cannot be reached on foot but path leads to it
are visible from the oppo site from the road.
shore. Teampall-na-Skellig, or
the “church of the rock”, was
supposedly built on the site of
the first church that St Kevin
founded at Glendalough. To the
east of it, carved into the cliff, is
St Kevin’s Bed. This small cave,
in reality little more than a rocky
ledge above the upper lake, was
apparently used as a retreat by
St Kevin. It was from here that
the saint allegedly rejected the
advances of a woman by
tossing her into the lake. Brownshill Dolmen, famous for its enormous capstone
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp297–8 and pp311–13

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