Sights in County Wicklow
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Wicklow’s Historic Gaol
Wicklow’s infamous jail, opened in 1702 to deal with prisoners sentenced under the repressive Penal Laws, was renowned throughout Ireland for the brutality of its keepers and the harsh conditions suffered by its inmates. The smells, vicious beatings, shocking food and disease-ridden air have long since gone, but adults and children alike can experience a sanitised version of what the prison was like – and stimulate the secret sadist buried deep within – in the highly entertaining tour of the prison, now one of Wicklow’s most popular tourist attractions. Actors play the roles of the various jailers and prisoners, adding to the sense of drama already heightened by the vario…
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Killruddery House & Gardens
About 3km south of Bray on the Greystones road are Killruddery House & Gardens. A stunning mansion in the Elizabethan Revival style, Killruddery has been home to the Brabazon family (earls of Meath) since 1618 and has one of the oldest gardens in Ireland. The house, designed by trendy 19th-century architects Richard Morrisson and his son William in 1820, was reduced to its present-day huge proportions by the 14th earl in 1953; he was obviously looking for something a little more bijou. The house is impressive, but the prizewinner here is the magnificent orangery, built in 1852 and chock-full of statuary and plant life. If you like fancy glasshouses, this is the one for yo…
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Deer Stone
At the junction with Green Rd as you cross the river just south of these two churches is the Deer Stone in the middle of a group of rocks. Legend claims that, when St Kevin needed milk for two orphaned babies, a doe stood here waiting to be milked. The stone is actually a bullaun (a stone used as a mortar for grinding medicines or food).
Many such stones are thought to be prehistoric, and they were widely regarded as having supernatural properties: women who bathed their faces with water from the hollow were supposed to keep their looks forever. The early churchmen brought the stones into their monasteries, perhaps hoping to inherit some of their powers.
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Mt Usher Gardens
Horticulturalists from around the world can be found salivating and muttering in approval as they walk around the 8-hectare Mt Usher Gardens, just outside the unremarkable town of Ashford, about 10km south of Greystones on the N11. OK, not really, but the gardens are pretty special, with trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants from around the world laid out in Robinsonian style – ie according to the naturalist principles of famous Irish gardener William Robinson (1838–1935) – rather than the formalist style of preceding gardens.
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Reefert Church
Follow the Upper Lake lakeshore path southwest of the car park until you come to the considerable remains of Reefert Church above the tiny River Poulanass. It's a small, plain, 11th-century Romanesque nave-and-chancel church with some reassembled arches and walls. Traditionally, Reefert (literally 'Royal Burial Place') was the burial site of the chiefs of the local O'Toole family. The surrounding graveyard contains a number of rough stone crosses and slabs, most made of shiny mica schist.
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Teampall na Skellig
The original site of St Kevin's settlement, Teampall na Skellig, is at the base of the cliffs towering over the southern side of the Upper Lake and accessible only by boat; unfortunately, there's no boat service to the site and you'll have to settle for looking at it across the lake. The terraced shelf has the reconstructed ruins of a church and early graveyard. Rough wattle huts once stood on the raised ground nearby. Scattered around are some early grave slabs and simple stone crosses.
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Avondale House
Avondale House, a marvellous 209-hectare estate, dominated by a fine Palladian mansion, designed by James Wyatt in 1779, was the birthplace of Charles Stewart Parnell (1846–91), the ‘uncrowned king of Ireland’ and unquestionably one of the key figures in the Irish independence movement. It was his Irish headquarters. Of the house’s many highlights, the most impressive are the stunning vermilion-hued library (Parnell’s favourite room) and beautiful dining room.
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St Kevin's Kitchen
Glendalough's trademark is St Kevin's Kitchen or Church at the southern edge of the enclosure. This church, with a miniature round towerlike belfry, protruding sacristy and steep stone roof, is a masterpiece. How it came to be known as a kitchen is a mystery as there's no indication that it was anything other than a church. The oldest parts of the building date from the 11th century - the structure has been remodelled since but it's still a classic early Irish church.
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St Kevin's Bed
Just east of Teampall na Skellig and 10m above the lake waters is the 2m-deep artificial cave called St Kevin's Bed, said to be where Kevin lived. The earliest human habitation of the cave was long before St Kevin's era - there's evidence that people lived in the valley for thousands of years before the monks arrived. In the green area just south of the car park is a large circular wall thought to be the remains of an early Christian caher (stone fort).
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Priest's House
At the centre of the graveyard to the south of the round tower is the Priest's House. This odd building dates from 1170 but has been heavily reconstructed. It may have been the location of shrines of St Kevin. Later, during penal times, it became a burial site for local priests - hence the name.
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Maritime Museum
The town’s seafaring past is explored in the small maritime museum, which features a model of the Titanic, some salvaged items from the Lusitania and an extraordinary model of a ship – made from 10,000 matchsticks.
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Monastery Gatehouse
Just round the bend from the Glendalough Hotel is the stone arch of the Monastery Gatehouse, the only surviving example of a monastic entranceway in the country. Just inside the entrance is a large slab with an incised cross.
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Round Tower
Beyond the monastery gatehouse lies a graveyard, which is still in use. The 10th-century Round Tower here is 33m tall and 16m in circumference at the base. The upper storeys and conical roof were reconstructed in 1876.
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St Kevin's Cell
Climb the steps at the back of the Reefert Churchyard and follow the path to the west and you'll find, at the top of a rise overlooking the lake, the scant remains of St Kevin's Cell, a small beehive hut.
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St Mary's Church
The 10th-century St Mary's Church , 140m southwest of the round tower, probably originally stood outside the walls of the monastery and belonged to local nuns. It has a lovely western doorway.
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St Saviour's Church
The road east leads to St Saviour's Church , with its detailed Romanesque carvings. To the west, a nice woodland trail leads up the valley past the Lower Lake to the Upper Lake.
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National Sealife Centre
The National Sealife Centre is the British-run aquarium which has a fairly big selection of tanks, stocked with 70 different sea and freshwater species.
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Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul
Near the round tower, to the southeast, is the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul with a 10th-century nave. The chancel and sacristy date from the 12th century.
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St Kieran's Church
A little to the east are the scant remains of St Kieran's Church, the smallest at Glendalough.
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