Clonmacnoise

Shannonbridge

Ciarán settled here in 544 with seven companions, at the exact spot where the Shannon cuts through the glacial ridge of the Eiscir Riada, that line of sand and gravel laid down beneath a glacier some fourteen thousand years ago, which crosses the island from east to west and which, being a little higher than the surrounding land, served as a road across the bogs of the midlands. The monastery became an intellectual and commercial capital. It paid for it: the annals record at least twenty-seven Irish attacks, seven Viking and six Norman, before the English garrison of Athlone finished off the site in 1552. Temple Ciarán, dated to 909, is the oldest dated stone church surviving in Ireland.

Getting there : Admission charge (€8 full price), 21 km from Athlone; the original high crosses are housed in the visitor centre

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound