When we went to Ireland in 2023, we had driven by the sign directing us to the Rock of Cashel a few times, but we were always too busy doing 120 (km/h) down the M8 to make the decision to detour in a timely manner. Lucky for us this time we planned ahead!

Cashel of the Kings

Originally the seat of the kings of Munster, according to legend St. Patrick himself came here to convert King Aenghus to Christianity. Brian Boru was crowned High King at Cashel in 978 and made it his capital. In 1101 the site was granted to the church and Cashel swiftly rose to prominence as one of the most significant centers of religious power in the country.

One of Irelands most popular tourist attractions

The Rock of Cashel is located near downtown Cashel, Country Tipperary, and sits atop a large hill, requiring a wee bit of stamina to visit. Considering the open-ness of the ruins and its residence so high up, the winds can be fierce.

We arrived before the tour busses started filling up the parking lot at the base of the hill, but there were already many individuals and small groups throughout the site. We opted for the self-guided tour, although there were guided tours which included access to some parts of the site that the rest of us plebs were denied.

An active resting place

We found it interesting that not only were there many graves on-site, but that many of the permanent residents had been interred as late as 2018. If you’d like to spend eternity as a tourist attraction with beautiful views of the rolling hills of Ireland, send me a $500 non-refundable deposit! Hurry! Plots are going fast!

Added bonus: Hore Abbey

Settle down and check the spelling. A ways off down the hill was another set of ruins, those of Hore Abbey. ‘Hore’ is thought to derive from ‘iubhair’ – yew tree. We weren’t able to get down there to see the ruins up close because parking was non-existent, but at least the camera worked well enough to get us this beautiful image.