The Rock of Cashel is one of Ireland’s most historic and impressive sites.
Author
lmecoy
Rising high above the surrounding countryside, the Rock of Cashel is such an immense collection of historical structures that you have to stop a mile or more before you arrive there to get a photo of the site.Memorials and tombstones honoring those who lived here surround the historic buildings.The Cormac Chapel is named after Cormac Mac Cárthaigh, the king of South Munster who commissioned it. It dates to the early 12th Century.The Cormac Chapel is considered to be one of the earliest and best-preserved examples of early Irish Romanesque architecture. However, the structure was built using sandstone, and it has been severely weathered over the years on the Rock of Cashel’s windswept hilltop. Extensive renovations had just been completed in the past year, and the chapel reopened to the public.The Cormac Chapel has numerous carvings, including this unusual depiction of twins. The chapel was originally covered in frescoes but only fragments of those colorful drawings remain today, including the reddish patches near these carvings.The 13th-century Gothic cathedral is a large cruciform Gothic church built between 1230 and 1270.The surrounding countryside.The 12th-century round tower is the oldest surviving building on the Rock.The Irish Protestants, led by Inchiquin, attacked the Rock in 1647 and killed some 1,000 people from the nearby town who had sought refuge here. Inchiquin would later claim that all the refugees on the Rock, except one, died during the assault.This is believed to be the face of a benefactor — contributor to the Cathedral.High walls surround the Rock of Cashel.Tombstones outside the buildings.
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