Clonmacnoise is a beautiful complex of ruins – churches, towers, a castle, three high crosses, and hundreds of Early Christian cross slabs. Until recently no one knew the breadth of the archaeological wealth within the grounds adjacent to the 6th-century monastery. This is one of the most intact and scenic early monastic sites in Ireland. The monastery flourished for seven centuries and withstood numerous incidents of fire and plunder. In 1214, Norman conquerors built a castle at the site. Gaelic control resumed later in the century, but the monastery never regained its importance. Shortly after attack and devastation in 1552 by the English, the diocese was absorbed by its larger neighbor, Meath.

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拍攝者： Debchephotography