After a lovely breakfast at the restaurant on the Tankardstown grounds, we packed up and went on for more touring. This was the first weekend in June, which was a Bank Holiday weekend. Bank Holidays are roughly every other month throughout the year. On that Monday, almost all businesses are closed, as well as the banks. I guess it is comparable to the American Holidays of Labor Day, Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Jr Day, Presidents Day, etc. But here, on the Bank Holidays, they are serious about taking a holiday! Anyway, it was a Bank Holiday Weekend so on Monday morning Steve and I headed out for more touring.
First stop in the morning was Monasterboice. This is the only early Irish monastery that uses the Irish word, Mainistir in the Gaelic title. According to the signs on the grounds, it it believed to have been a center for spirituality and learning for many centuries until the Cistercians arrived at nearby Mellifont in 1142, taking over as such a center. There are 2 churches on the grounds that were probably built in the 14th Century. The Round Tower is believed to have been a treasury and a belfry. It is believed the High Crosses were used to tell stories from the Bible.
Below is the West Cross which was built in the early 10th Century. On the east face of the Cross Head is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ, and on the other side is a crucifixion. This shot is of the east face.
Below is a shot of the west face.
Steve seeking shelter from the rain. We had quite a shower while we were there, but then the day cleared up.
This is Muiredach's Cross. It is one of the most perfect, intact high crosses in Ireland. It is named after an abbot, Muiredach mac Domhnaill who died in 923. The two sides of the cross tell stories of the Bible from both the Old and New Testaments.
The third High Cross is in this enclosure. It clearly required some repair.
Even with the rain, it was a lovely place to walk.
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