Glendalough

Glendalough is in County Wicklow, on the way to Dublin from Waterford. One of the things that it is famous for is the monastic settlement established by St. Kevin that dates back to the 6^th century. This settlement was host to a total of seven churches and a tower.

St. Kevin was someone who had connections at the time period as he was descended from one of the ruling families in Leinster. He studied under three holy men in Glendalough and returned later to establish a monastery in the vicinity. He had a following and left a number of writings that scholars still study. It is believed that he died about 618 AD and the settlement continued to flourish for the following 600 years.

In the twelfth century, St. Laurence O’Toole became Abbot of Glendalough and later became Archbishop of Dublin. He was known for his sanctity and hospitality. After his appointment as Archbishop, he still continued to visit Glendalough.

In 1214, the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin were united. Once this was done, the settlement in Glendalough began to diminish and, in 1398, was destroyed by English forces, leaving it a ruin. However, it continued to be a place of pilgrimage.

Today, there is a Visitor’s Center that gives a fair amount of information regarding this location. There are also guided tours available. The guide that we had was quite knowledgeable and the tour took about an hour. There is a lot to see, you could spend easily spend a day there as there are also a couple of trails to follow. In order to see everything, an hour or two is not enough time.

Ballintubber Abbey

There is one thing that Ireland is know for that sets it apart from England, Scotland, and Wales in my mind. It is the faithfulness of the people of the Roman Catholic faith. They went through a lot, especially in the last couple of hundred years, to maintain their faith, their traditions, and, indeed, their way of life. If you visit Ireland now, you will find that many young people do not attend church, and this is not just those of the Catholic faith, but of the other churches in Ireland. The younger generation have demanded that Ireland be brought into the twenty-first century, even if it is kicking and screaming. This includes bringing peace to the island, especially in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has many more people of Protestant faiths, but, to me it seems that they don’t have the same number of ancient or medieval ruins as reminders of how ancient the land is and the people who were first there. That being said, the Republic is home to a great number of abbeys that are no longer used and haven’t been for hundreds of years. However, there are some that have been renovated to use as tourist destinations and some for use by the surrounding neighbourhood. Ballintubber Abbey is one of the abbeys that combine the two purposes.

Ballintubber Abbey has been there in one form or another since 1216. Prior to that, there was a tradition that St Patrick baptised people in the small river at the back of where the Abbey now stands. There is also a trail leading from there to the top of Croagh Patrick where St Patrick is reputed to have fasted for forty days in the mid 400s AD. This mountain is the third tallest mountain in County Mayo. The trail was used in the past for a pilgrimage to the top of the mountain when pilgrimages to Jerusalem were discontinue when the Saracens recaptured the Holy Land. Eventually, even these pilgrimages petered out.

The Abbey is surrounded by a magnificent cemetery. There are very old headstones as well as modern ones. The Abbey also has a Way of the Cross which faithful Catholics follow, especially in time for Easter. There is a Rosary Way, an underground crib, and a small museum. I did not get a chance to visit the museum as our schedule had to be kept.

The Abbey was severely damaged during the Cromwellian years, but the people still continued to meet on the grounds throughout the years. Just prior to 1966, a new roof was put on the roofless building in time for the 750^th anniversary. Recently, there have been renovations on the building and its interior in time for the 800^th anniversary which was or is being held this year (2016).

This building costs a lot of money to restore and maintain. In order to raise funds, the Abbey is open to tourists who are given a tour of the cemetery, along with the Way of the Cross and the Rosary Way, and inside the building itself. Pilgrimages are held at six times a year, Easter, and then once in May, June, July, August, and December. These pilgrimages are the same as is described above. Ballintubber Abbey is a popular choice of location for weddings of both local people and celebrities. Once celebrity wedding in 2001 was for Irish actor Pierce Brosnan and his wife, American journalist Keely Shay Smith. For those of you who don’t know who Pierce Brosnan is, he had the title role of Remington Steele in the American TV series of the same name, and he also played James Bond in a number of James Bond movies.

I enjoyed visiting Ballintubber Abbey as I do have an interest in history and in religious history. I would like to go back to study the Abbey and the surrounding area more and to collect the stories that abound about St Patrick.