Glendalough

About Glendalough

Glendalough, from the Irish Gleann Dá Loch, the valley of two lakes, is a glacial valley in County Wicklow. It is best known for the early medieval monastic settlement founded there in the 6th century by Saint Kevin. The valley is also used for picnics, walking on maintained trails of varying difficulty, and rock climbing. From 1825 to 1957 the head of the valley was worked as a lead mine.

Among the surviving buildings is a round tower about 30 metres high, built of mica-slate and granite, with its doorway well above the ground and a conical roof rebuilt in 1876 from the original stones. The cathedral of St Peter and St Paul is the largest of the ruins.

History

Kevin, from a ruling family of Leinster, returned to the valley with a few monks to found a monastery where two rivers meet, and he died around 618. For six centuries the settlement flourished, and the Book of Glendalough was written there around 1131. Laurence O'Toole served as abbot before becoming Archbishop of Dublin in 1162. After the dioceses of Glendalough and Dublin were united in 1214 its standing declined, and English forces left it in ruins in 1398, though it remained a place of pilgrimage.

Visiting

The valley is open to walk to and around. Details are on heritageireland.ie.