Glendalough

Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead mine. Glendalough is also a recreational area for picnics, for walking along networks of maintained trails of varying difficulty, and also for rock climbing.

History

thumb|upright=1.6|Lower Lake and Monastic Village from [[Brockagh Mountain]]

Kevin, a descendant of one of the ruling families in Leinster, studied as a boy under the care of three holy men: Eoghan, Lochan and Eanna. During this time, he went to Glendalough. He was to return later, with a small group of monks to found a monastery where the 'two rivers form a confluence'. Kevin's writings discuss his fighting "knights" at Glendalough; scholars today believe this refers to his process of self-examination and his personal temptations. His fame as a holy man spread and he attracted numerous followers. He died in about 618, traditionally on 3 June. For the next six centuries, Glendalough flourished and the Irish Annals contain references to the deaths of abbots and raids on the settlement.

Circa 1042, oak timber from Glendalough was used to build the second-longest Viking longship recorded (circa 30 m). A modern replica of that ship was built in 2004 and is currently located in Roskilde, Denmark. At the Synod of Rath Breasail in 1111, Glendalough was designated as one of the two dioceses of North Leinster. The Book of Glendalough was written there about 1131. St. Laurence O'Toole, born in 1128, became Abbot of Glendalough and was well known for his sanctity and hospitality. Even after his appointment as Archbishop of Dublin in 1162, he returned occasionally to Glendalough, to the solitude of St. Kevin's Bed. He died in Eu, in Normandy in 1180. by Abraham Ortelius as "Glandalag". Descriptions of Glendalough from the 18th and 19th centuries include references to occasions of "riotous assembly" on the feast of St. Kevin on 3 June.

Catholic succession

Since 1969, Glendalough has been a titular see in the Roman Catholic Church

and is used for bishops who hold no ordinary power of their own, and thus are titular bishops.

Titular bishops

Raymond D'Mello (20 December 1969 – 13 December 1973)
Marian Przykucki (12 December 197315 June 1981)
Donal Murray (4 March 198210 February 1996)
Diarmuid Martin (5 December 199814 October 2004)
Guy Sansaricq (6 June 200621 August, 2021)
Kevin S. Randall (13 August 2023 – present)

Annalistic references

See Annals of Inisfallen (AI)

AI800.2 Minndenach, abbot of Glenn dá Locha, rested.
AI809.2 Échtbrann, abbot of Glenn dá Locha, [rested].
AI1003.6 Dúnchad Ua Mancháin, abbot of Glenn dá Locha, rested.

Monuments in the Lower Glen

Gateway

thumb|The Gateway|alt=

The Gateway to the monastic city of Glendalough is one of the most important monuments, now totally unique in Ireland. It was originally two-storeyed with two fine, granite arches. The antae or projecting walls at each end suggest that it had a timber roof. Inside the gateway, in the west wall, is a cross-inscribed stone. This denoted sanctuary, the boundary of the area of refuge. The paving of the causeway in the monastic city is still preserved in part but very little remains of the enclosure wall. is the largest and most imposing of the buildings at Glendalough, the cathedral had several phases of construction, the earliest, consisting of the present nave with its antae. The large mica-schist stones which can be seen up to the height of the square-headed west doorway were re-used from an earlier smaller church. The chancel and sacristy date from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The chancel arch and east window were finely decorated, though many of the stones are now missing. The north doorway to the nave also dates from this period. Under the southern window of the chancel, there is an ambry or wall cupboard and a piscina, a basin used for washing the sacred vessels. A few metres south of the cathedral an early cross of local granite, with an unpierced ring, is commonly known as St. Kevin's Cross. In August 2023, The Deer Stone was vandalised, causing permanent damage.

Monuments near the Upper Lough

Reefert Church

thumb|Reefert Church|alt=

Situated in a grove of trees, this nave-and-chancel church dates from around 1100. Most of the surrounding walls are modern. The name derives from Righ Fearta, the burial place of the kings. The church, built in a simple style, has a granite doorway with sloping jambs and flat lintel and a granite chancel arch. The projecting corbels at each gable carried verge timbers for the roof. East of the church there are two crosses of note, one with an elaborate interlace pattern. On the other side of the Poulanass River, close to Reefert are the remains of another small church.

In 1859, the Glendasan and Glendalough mines were connected with each other by a series of tunnels called adits, which are now mostly flooded, through the Camaderry mountain. These tunnels helped drain the mineral vein and made it easier to transport ore to Glendalough where it could be more easily processed. The rusted remains of ore crushers can still be seen at the Miner's Village, however, the tramway and inclined rails system are gone. Weaver had previously been involved with mapping the geology of Wicklow, after the Wicklow gold rush of 1795, 14 years prior. In 1825, the Glendalough Mining Company took over the Glendasan mines when they bought Weaver's shares. Surrounding Glendalough are the mountains of Camaderry , the hydroelectric station at Turlough Hill , and large massif of Conavalla which dominates the head of the valley, and the peaks of Lugduff , and Mullacor .

Vegetation

Glendalough is surrounded by semi-natural oak woodland. Much of this was formerly coppiced (cut to the base at regular intervals) to produce wood, charcoal and bark. In the springtime, the oakwood floor is carpeted with a display of bluebells, wood sorrel and wood anemones. Other common plants are woodrush, bracken, polypody fern and various species of mosses. The understorey is largely of holly, hazel and mountain ash.

Wildlife

Glendalough is a good place to look for some of Ireland's newest breeding species, such as the goosander and the great spotted woodpecker, and some of the rarest, such as the common redstart and the wood warbler; peregrine, white-throated dipper, common cuckoo, eurasian jay and common buzzard can also be seen.

Recreation

Walking trails

thumb|View west, White Route boardwalkthumb|View east, Miner's Road Walk

There are nine way-marked trails of varying difficulty around Glendalough that are maintained by the Wicklow Mountains National Park (and who provide a map of all trails). As the entire White Route loop is on paths (either stone/sand paths or boarded railway sleepers), it can be completed in running shoes and does not require climbing footwear; the entire 9-kilometre loop of the White Route, starting and ending at the upper lake car-park, takes circa 2–3 hours.

The 30-kilometre medieval pilgrimage tail, Saint Kevin's Way, starts in Hollywood, and ends in Glendalough.

Rock climbing

thumb|Marked climbs on the Main Face

Glendalough's south-facing granite cliffs, situated on slopes of Camaderry above the north-western end of the valley (just above the Miner's Village), have been a rock climbing location since 1948.

The 2009 Mountaineering Ireland climbing guidebook for Wicklow, as well as the online guidebooks for Glendalough,

The climbs vary between one and four pitches, and up to over 100 metres in length. There are several sectors:

The Upper Cliffs, a band of cliffs high up on the hillside east of Twin Buttress.
Acorn Buttress, a small buttress just below Twin Buttress, which is a popular base-camp location.
Hobnail Buttress, a small buttress with some easy climbing, on the hillside one kilometre to the east.

The Irish Mountaineering Club has operated a climbing hut since the 1950s.

Below the crag is an extensive boulder field which is also used for bouldering activities.

Gallery

File:Lower Lake, Glendalough 1.jpg| Lower Lake

File:Upper lake, Glendalough, Wicklow.jpg|Higher Lake

File:Irl 1sh airmail.jpg|One shilling Irish stamp with Vox Hiberniae flying over Gleann Dá Loċ (1949)

File:Glendalough alt.jpg|Glendalough (1890s)

File:Wicklow Way Glendalough.jpg|Glendalough (2011)

File:Wicklow county arms.png|St. Kevin's Church on the coat of arms of County Wicklow

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References

Sources

External links

List of the various monuments in Glendalough
Megalithic Ireland's Glendalough Monastic Site
Monastic buildings of Glendalough (Archived link)
Walking Trails of Glendalough
God's Cottage Prayer Centre and to The Bible Chapel, Glendalough - Pilgrimage Centre