GLENDALOUGH

From Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland (1900)

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Description of County Wicklow | Vale of Avoca | Glendalough | Bray Esplanade | Powerscourt Castle | Avondall | Wicklow Map

GLENDALOUGH.—Glendalough, or the Glen of the Two Lakes, embraces a valley about two and a half miles long and from half a mile to a mile in breadth. In its somber solitude St. Kevin in the early part of the 6th century built an abbey and laid the foundation of his monastic establishment, which grew until it became a crowded city, a school of learning, and the abode of holy men, an asylum for the poor, a refuge for the oppressed, and a hospital for the sick. Here the saint lived to the uncommon age of 120 years. Of the remains of the ancient city and its sacred edifices are the Round Tower, the Cathedral, Our Lady's Church, and St. Kevin's House or Kitchen, and at a little distance Trinity Church, St. Saviour's, the Church of Rheafert, and St. Kevin's Bed. The erection of the cathedral is attributed to Goban Saer, the Celebrated architect of the 7th century. Thomas Moore, with, perhaps, an undue flavor of levity, has made the legend of St. Kevin and the Lake of Glendalough the subject of one of the Irish melodies.

Glendalough, Wicklow

Glendalough

Description of County Wicklow | Vale of Avoca | Glendalough | Bray Esplanade | Powerscourt Castle | Avondall | Wicklow Map

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