Glendalough

The Monastic Site at Glendalough was founded by St. Kevin in the 6th Century in a Glacial Valley about 40km from where we live and is the second most visited place in Ireland after Killarney and the Lakes in the extreme South West. Situated in a Glacial Valley hidden away in what is now a National Park it is a most beautiful place and well worth a visit if ever you come to the Emerald Isle.

The Round Tower visible in the centre of this shot was a later addition, built as a place of refuge and protection in times when the Viking raiders came plundering. The Vikings were eventually defeated at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014 by a force led by the Irish King Brian Ború. The tower was accessed by ladder, through a door which is about 10 metres above ground level. Once the ladder was pulled up and into the tower, the sanctuary became a well nigh impregnable fortress and raiders would give up and go away having taken whatever they could find.

Glendalough, pronounced phonetically "Glendalock" comes from the Irish words Gleann dá Loch, meaning the Glenn of the Two Lakes as there are two lakes on the valley floor.