Pictures of Ireland

Thought I would share a few pixs of my trip with my friend, Heather, to Ireland. We spent half of our time in Dublin and the other half in the south at the Ring of Kerry.

In Dublin, at Trinity College, where we saw the Book of Kells.
"The Book of Kells is an ornately illustrated manuscript, produced by Celtic monks around AD 800 in the style known as Insular art. It is one of the more lavishly illuminated manuscripts to survive from the Middle Ages and has been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy and illumination. It contains the four gospels of the Bible in Latin".


Saint Patrick's Cathedral, in Dublin.
"In 1191, under John Comyn, the first Anglo-Norman archbishop of Dublin, Saint Patrick's was raised to the status of a cathedral and the present building, the largest church in the country, was erected between 1200 and 1270. Over the centuries as the elements, religious reformation and persecution took their toll, the cathedral fell into serious disrepair, despite many attempts to restore it. Eventually between 1860 and 1900 a full-scale restoration based on the original design, was carried out by the Guinness family."


Heather eating Fish and Chips, in the park next to Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Need I say more.. the company, surroundings and the fish and chips were awesome!


Heather over looking the Rocks of Skellig (ring of islands) at the Ring of Kerry.
"Skellig Michael and Little Skellig are located 12km off Valentia Island. Skellig Michael has the best preserved early Christian monastery in Western Europe. "


A view from the cemetery at a the Rock a Cashel.
"The Rock of Cashel served as the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster for several hundred years prior to the Norman invasion, though few remnants if any of the early structures survive. The majority of buildings on the current site date from the 12th and 13th centuries. Cashel is reputed to be the site of the conversion of the King of Munster by St. Patrick in the 5th century A.D."



This is Hore Abbey, in the valley just below the Rock of Cashel.
"Hore Abbey was founded by Cistercians in 1266. It was originally of the Benedictine Order. In 1272, however, Archbishop David McCarvill of Cashel, having dreamed that the monks made an attempt on his life, violently disposessed them of their house and lands. He brought the Cistercians from the important monastery at Mellifont in County Louth to found a new Cistercian Abbey and he himself took the habit of that order."


In the town near the Rock of Cashel, here is a explanation for this type of cross.
"High Crosses exist from the 7th century in Ireland, and were later seen in Scotland and in Wales.The ring initially served to strengthen the head and the arms of the High Cross, but it soon became a decorative feature as well.The High Crosses were status symbols, either for a monastery or for a sponsor or patron. The early 8th century crosses had only geometric motifs, but from the 9th and 10th century, biblical scenes were carved on the crosses. There were no crosses after the 12th century."