Glendalough Round
Tower, Co. Wicklow
The round tower from
further away.
The view from the
upper lake, looking up into the hills and the water trickling down the hillside.Glendalough
Visiting Glendalough while we were staying in Dublin was certainly a well worth trip. The 6th Century Monastery of St. Kevin was a day needed for self-reflection, thought and silence. On the way home from the day-trip I wrote my thoughts down on the day in my journal.
Entry 12: Saturday May 25th, 2002 Today the class took a trip to Glendalough. The 6th century monastery was amazing. It rained for most of the day, and although this created a rather wet day, it set the mood for the monastery perfectly. The dreary, dark sky gave the solemnity that seemed appropriate for walking around such old and sacred ground.
I enjoyed the time to myself immensely and spent a few hours exploring alone the monastery and surrounding grounds. The view from the paths behind the monastery were breathtaking and it felt like truly holy territory. This history of life and death surrounding the monastery was very real. There were sheep scattered behind the monastery grounds, and the lambs calling to their mothers, surprisingly resembled the cries of human babies The graveyard of the monastery held bodies, dead for hundreds of years but the lush green of the hillside sheltering the site was very much alive and growing.
| Glendalough Round
Tower, Co. Wicklow |
|
| The round tower from
further away. |
The view from the
upper lake, looking up into the hills and the water trickling down the hillside. |
Within each location of the trip there has been what we referred to on the trip as a "Sacred site." In Dublin, Glendalough was the sacred site that stands out in my memory. Although it held no distinct religious symbolism for me, it gave me a time for thought and reflection on the trip so far, and the nature which surrounded over 1400 years of man-made history and worship.
On the way to Glendalough we made a few different stops, but one of the memorable stops we made was along the coast, and the light and the rocks along the water was delightful scenery for climbing and relaxing in the sun.
 The houses along the water reminded
me of something out of an Italian film, but Ireland gave off the same exotic
water scenery here as any Italian film. |
 Christine and Kelly enjoyed the view
from the rocks and the bright sun reflecting from the water. |
 |
 The wind was strong along the
water's edge, but the day had not turned rainy yet, and the sun still shown
brightly. |