Glendalough excursion April 26 2008

RSAI Spring Excursion to Glendalough (26 April 2008)
by
Con Manning

The bus took the route along the western side of the Wicklow Mountains through Blessington and Hollywood and from there up towards the Wicklow Gap to our first stop at Templeteenaun in the townland of Ballinagee. Here our guide was Dr Aidan O’Sullivan of the School of Archaeology at UCD. The rain eased for our walk along part of the St Kevin’s Way walking route and a short distance from that to the church site. UCD has been doing training excavations here for a few years and Aidan, a native of nearby Vallymount, brought both the site and the excavation alive for us. The surprising thing about the excavation was the amount of thirteenth-century finds, mainly pottery, that turned up in midden deposits just outside the enclosure. Burials and a leacht were also uncovered within the enclosure. The church seems to have served a community here at that time and possibly also served as a stopping point on the pilgrim route to Glendalough. Our next stop was at Wicklow Gap where we remained on the bus to hear Aidan describe the rescue excavations along St Kevin’s Road on the east side of the gap, which were funded by the National Monuments Service. Here they found that the road was paved in places with large granite stones. Good dating evidence has proved elusive so far.

We then proceeded to Glendalough and lunch at the hotel. On our way through the visitor centre we saw the beautiful carved model of Reefert Church, made by the late Paddy Healy and presented to the visitor centre by his brother Peter, who joined us for a while later in the day. After lunch Con Manning, past-president, brought part of the group to see the Seven Fonts (bullaun stones), which are situated on land recently acquired by the State. A lively discussion ensued on what bullaun stones were used for without any agreed conclusion. Excavation at this remarkable site in the future might throw light on the question. Later the whole group met up at the cathedral and, sheltering from the rain under a yew tree, listened to a fascinating account of the history of Glendalough and the lives of St Kevin by Charles Doherty, Hon. Gen. Secretary. Con Manning then outlined his analysis of the building history of the cathedral and St Kevin’s Church.

We then proceeded on foot along the green road on the south side of the valley to the upper lake where we examined Reefert Church and other features with commentary by Charles Doherty and Con Manning. The weather had improved by this stage and the final site we looked at from a distance was St Kevin’s Bed. This manmade hollow in the cliff, 30 feet above the lake, is inaccessible except by boat. To bring the history and traditions of Glendalough up to more recent times Con Manning gave a rendition here of the Glendalough Saint. Our walk back to the bus brought us along the board walk on the north side of the lower lake. The journey back to Dublin was through Roundwood and along the east side of the mountains. Despite the weather, an enjoyable if slightly more energetic than normal excursion was had by all.