Ireland - Rock of Cashel

The Rock of Cashel was the traditional seat of the Kings of Munster as early as the 4th century. 

In 977AD, Brian Boru was crowned here as King, and made Cashel his capital.

Only a few remnants of the original structure remain, most of what we see was rebuilt in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The guided portion of this tour got bungled by the employees (as a note, in Ireland you see "feckin' eejit" stuff everywhere - shirts, hats, mugs...well. It's not for no reason. They actually say this. A lot 😆 In case you are bad at swearing, and accents, this would translate well into the American "F---ing Idiot"). Anyway, we heard our first Irish swear here, and missed some proper instruction, but google helped us fill in the details.

The Round Tower  - the oldest and tallest part of Cashel is this tower, which is 92ft high, built in 1100. The entrance is 12ft from the ground. The tower was built using the dry stone method. This is when they used stones and stacked them in an interlocking way - there is no mortar. Modern conversationalists have filled in some of the tower with mortar for safety and preservation reasons.

Ruins at the "base" of the Rock, unsure of what it was orginally

It's just part of the pretty landscape of the town, now. 

From down in the town. It is truly up on a Rock! You can see it from so far away.

To note, we think of castles, and think of them looking like this: grey stones. But what is is meant to look like, and what it would have looked like "back then" - all white. Shiny! They limewashed everything white.

An interior pic (outsides were all white too) - but this is an example from a church on the property that was well preserved. Saint Patrick is said to have converted the King of Munster to Christianity here in the 5th century. 

That one tall marker by the wall edge? I think it was a grave monument? You can see it in one of the videos below, that is where I walk over to the wall to show the town. The wall was about 5'4" from the ground on the inside from the cemetery (I'm 5'2") I had to lift my phone above my head to capture what was below.

 

The Cathedral was built between 1235 and 1270.

The Chapel