County Clare: Kilmacduagh Monastery

After leaving Bunratty Castle, we went to Kilmacduagh Monastery. It was a lot like the other monastery that we saw except for three things: I had a different tour guide, so therefore different information about monasteries, this one had a round tower, and there was a full graveyard next to the monastery. The other one did have many people buried there, but no actual graveyard on site.

Here is a picture of the entire monastery/tower/graveyard:


Just like the other monastery, this one is in the shape of a cross. I took this picture so you could get a slightly better idea. The monastery was built in the early 7th century (600s).


The tower, however, was not built until some time between 900 and 1000. These towers (seen in monasteries all throughout Ireland) were built as a watch tower and place of protection for the monks. This was a time when the Vikings frequently raided Ireland at the time. They would hide in these towers and lock themselves in. This way, the Vikings had no way to get to them. Unfortunately for the monks, after a period of time, the Vikings figured out that when set on fire in a specific way, these towers essentially turned into chimneys. They stuffed flammable materials (probably hay/grass/etc) into the cracks of the stones and set them on fire. This trapped the monks and led to their burning to death.


This grave stone was all alone on the far side of the monastery. It was also enclosed by a fence. I am not sure of the significance of this stone, but I will tell you about the significance of the Celtic Cross! Although there are several different accounts of the meaning of the Celtic Cross, the most commonly believed is this: The cross shape itself carries the traditional meaning of Christ's crucifiction and sacrafice for his people. The circle around the cross represents God's eternal love as displayed through Jesus's sacrafice. They are usually embellished with Celtic knot patterns.


The grave stones at this monastery dated back for thousands of years. Many of the stones were so old that they were impossible to read because they were covered in lichen (the white stuff). Lichen is a really good thing though! It only grows where the air is prisinely clean. I see it everywhere in Ireland, and it's reassuring to know that I'm in a place with such clean air!

(By the way, I noticed that the statue of Mary was tipped over after the picture and it bothered me because of my anal tendencies, so I fixed it.) Oh and this stone was from the early 1800s.

I spent a while looking at this picture and wondering why I took it. Yes, I know that it is a pretty view, but I took all of these pictures for reasons. And then I remembered. Notice the fence going through the center of that lake. Isn't that strange? WELL, in the summertime, there is no lake here. These are called Turloughs. These "seasonal lakes" only appear in western Ireland; they are not found anywhere else in the world! Western Ireland has a layer of limestone underneath the soil. This is part of the reason that the grass is always so green too (besides the immense amount of rain of course). Because of the amount of rain combined with the limestone ledge, the water has nowhere to go except for up. Do not get the impression that these are just very large puddles though! They are usually from 2 to 5 meters deep! (That's 6.5 to 16.5 feet deep.) Because of their interesting nature, turloughs are home to unusual plants and animals that are unique to the turloughs!


I know I promised I'd finish, but I just don't have the patience for this blogging business. I have one short installation left for this weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to the Ring of Kerry so those should be some exciting posts coming soon!