Ruins

carriem837 · Member

Ruins

Laoghaire · Senior Member

Hello,

My advice would be to buy the book "Guide to National and Historic Monuments of Ireland" by Peter Harbison. It has been my "bible" for six trips to Ireland!

Another book that I just purchased recently is "The Traveller's Guide To Sacred Ireland" by Cary Meehan. A wonderful, informative guide. These books will certainly give you a wealth of great sites to see.

Enjoy!

Helen

yesiree · Guru

You won't be at a loss for ruins and cemeteries in Ireland. Do you have any itinerary plans in play...that would help us suggest the best sites in the areas you will be visiting.

carriem837 · Member

I started trying to build an itinerary, and got frustrated. There are so many places that sound interesting that I'm having a hard time figuring out what is feasible and what isn't. What I really need is a huge map of Ireland that I can hang on the wall so I can get a better idea of where things are!

I've been to Ireland once, for 3 days, and that trip was limited to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway. I know I want to go back there for sure. Here are a few places that I've been looking at: Rock of Cashel, King of Kerry, Aran Islands, Blarney, Glendalough, Cork, and Clonmacnoise. We will be there for 10 days.

Michele Erdvig · Host

carriem837,

The books that Helen mentioned are very good. You might also check at your local library too. I often find that looking at photo books helps to define what you want to see. As Yessiree has said there are ruins, crosses and cemeteries all over Ireland. Take a look at my Links page for links to some good historic sites in Ireland. With only 10 days you will need to refine your schedule. Cashel, Glendalough and Clonmacnoise certainly fit the bill. I think you might want to choose Dingle over Ring of Kerry because of limited time.

Michele

yesiree · Guru

Most of the destinations you mentioned are in the southwest, so definitely focus your research on that area first...and don't fall into the trap of traveling across the country just because of one or two sites. You can replace the time you'd be spengding in the car with time spent asking locals for some lesser known ruins.

The Burren near the Cliffs is loaded with ruins...the tourist offices in the area have plenty of maps of the Burren(however, I've found the guidebooks are easier to use because they don't list every little ruin...some of the really lesser known things in the Burren require a guide or serious mapreading/GPS capabilities to find).

Dysert O'Day around Ennis and Corofin in County Clare is a very interesting site that very few tourists get to. A map is available at O'Day Castle (hours vary based on season). It's a nice walk with a wide range of history and a great high cross.

Killaloe, where the Shannon River meets Lough Derg, has some interesting sites...a Chuch & cemetery, Brian Boru's earthen fort and the Graves of the Leinstermen.

Athassel Priory in Golden between Cashel and Tipperary town is a favorite of mine.

Kells and Kilree south of Kilkenny both have some great ruins.

No matter where your itinerary takes you, just ask the tourist office or one of the locals and they'll probably be able to direct you to something with five miles.

cavan97 · Member

To be much more specific:

The Blasket Island off the coast of Dingle is covered with the ruins of a village abandoned in the 1950s
http://www.greatblasketisland.com/

The road out of Galway through Spiddal to Rossaveal ...in the same vicinity: the road through Costello along the bay, the Aran Islands, the shore route from Roundstone to Clifdon

In County Clare....... the shore route from Lisconnor, around Blackhead to Ballyvaughan
the minor road from lahinch to Milton Malbay and beyond...Kilmcdough monastic ruins near Gort

Jean

Michele Erdvig · Host

Jean,

Thanks for mentioning Kilmacduagh. It is a place few people visit yet has exactly what carriem837 is looking for.

Michele

carriem837 · Member

Thank you for all the suggestions so far. We've found so many places we want to go we decided to extend it to 12 days instead of 10!

I have one question about Clonmacnoise. I had originally planned on flying into Dublin, mainly following the coast, ending in Galway, and flying out of Shannon. Clonmacnoise appears to be about half way between Galway and Dublin. To fit it in, it seems to make more sense to fly backout of Dublin. But I'm wondering if Clonmacnoise is worth the cross county drive back to Dublin? If so, I'm sure I can find more interesting places along that driving route. Just curious what your thoughts are!

Thanks!

Carrie

Michele Erdvig · Host

Carrie,

Clonmacnoise is considered one of the best monastic settlements in Ireland. However, there are others that are just as interesting or even more scenic. I'm thinking of Glendalough in Co. Wicklow, Kells in Co. Kilkenny, the Rock of Cashel, the Rock of Dunamase. I think there are plenty of others to see and you will not feel deprived if you skip Clonmacnoise.

Michele

Laoghaire · Senior Member

Hi Michele,

If I remember rightly, you visited The Rock of Dunamase a year (or less) ago. Just what renovations were they doing? It's on our itinerary for next May. I'm glad they are "fixing it up", but sure hope it doesn't become too touristy. It was so enchanting to be there all alone! We were there about 5 or 6 years ago, and are anxious to see it again.

Helen

Michele Erdvig · Host

Helen,

It is more like 2 - 3 years ago when I was at the Rock of Dunamase. Where does the time go? At the time it was more like neatening up the place more than anything drastic. I read online that more was in store. I believe Corey (Yessiree) has been there recently and has reported not much going on there. That is good news for those of us who prefer our ruins to be left as ruins.

Michele

wren · Member

I preferred Glendalough over Clonmacnoise. Glendalough has a series of places (and historical eras) to explore and some hikes where you could get away from whatever larger groups were there. I loved it!

Clonmacnoise was the first place we were unable to avoid the large tour groups, so that may have colored my perception a bit. There were always people in sight and while interesting it was harder for me to get a "feel" for the place. We also wound up following large buses in and out of area, which wasn't a lot of fun. We went in the early summer - it might be better at other times of year...

I wouldn't worry about trying to see everything. I like the idea of looking through books to see which places sort of jump out at you as being particularly enchanting. Then, pick two or three of those that are geographically compatible, like Glendalough, Jerpoint Abbey and maybe Cashel and kept your eyes and ears open for other ancient sites along the road (and I'd advocate for some back roads!) You'll find what you're looking for!

Wren

yesiree · Guru

The Rock of Dunamase still had preservation work going on last July, and I think the work will continue for a while, but the site was empty when I was there in 2005 and 2006. The views are great, and the work they are doing is preservation not restoration. If you're in the area, definitely check it out...but let's keep it a secret...it would be a shame if it became overrun with tourists.

The suggestion of Glendalough, Jerpoint and Cashel is a good zone to work with. From there you could add sites like Kells Priory (south of Kilkenny), Athassel Priory (in Golden between Tipperary town and Cashel), Browneshill Dolmen (near Carlow), Duiske Abbey (a renovated abbey in Graiguenamanagh between Kilkenny and New Ross). The Glen of Aherlow also has a lot of ancient holy wells, hermit caves, kyles and early church ruins. There's just so much to see.

pfff · Newbie

Hello everybody!

My 1st post here..

I'm very interested in ruins..
Yesiree, i'd like to ask you something..
Since i can't afford a trip down there.. can you please post pictures from your trip?

Mike

yesiree · Guru

I've got photos and a trip report posted in the "Ireland Trip Reports" of this forum. Mine is titled "Passports, Suspicious Packages and a Great Trip." Clicking on the photos will link you to my Flickr photostream which has several other photos.

Many of the others who have posted trip reports have also listed links to their photos. Some of them are fantastic!

Sites like www.flickr.com are great ways to take a virtual tour of Ireland...and to scout out a site that might not be well-photographed.

-- Edited by yesiree at 16:19, 2006-11-14

Michele Erdvig · Host

Mike,

Welcome to the forum. As Corey (yesiree) says he has photos and a great and very comprehensive trip report under the "Trip Report" section of my forum. Also be sure to check out his website where you can listen to very entertaining podcasts and sign up for an excellent newsletter about Ireland: www.irishfireside.com

When you have time you will find a ton of interesting info in all three sections of my forum as well as my website.

Michele