Clonmacnoise

We left early from Galway with the ultimate destination being Dublin. But on the way we detoured off the M6 to visit the monastic ruins at Clonmacnoise. It was well worth the detour.

This has probably been the most difficult blog entries to do as there were so many good pictures to choose from. I probably had three times as many good pics as I used. Anyway it was about a 2 hours drive to Clonmacnoise in a light rain.

We go into the center where some of the more fragile and/more interesting pieces are housed.

An interesting sculpture.

Saint Ciaran founded the monastery in 546 AD. It became a major religious, trade, and academic center in Ireland. It was usually closely affiliated with whatever secular ruler was ascendant at the time. 

There were a number of abstract depictions of aspects of medieval/religious life at the monastery.

There were tremendous photo opportunities.

Here are a couple of exhibits of life at the time.

There were a number of decorated slabs on exhibit.

There were also a number of the more important large stone crosses housed inside the visitor center.

There was a slight drizzle, but that did not stop us from having a bit of a stroll through the ruins.

There were many interesting things to see amongst the ruins.