May 25 – Day 8 Dungarvan to Dublin via Glendalough & Powerscourt
Accommodations: Camden Court Hotel, Dublin City
We leave Dungarvan this morning and head for Dublin where we will spend our final two nights. (The road to Glendalough was by far the narrowest, windiest road we’ve been on, and there was some very skillful driving by Dennis when we’d meet other vehicles. Not for the faint of heart.) We stopped in Glendalough, which means ‘valley of two lakes’; Upper Lake and Lower Lake. It is a glacier valley in County Wicklow. Wicklow is nicknamed the “Garden of Ireland” for obvious reasons. Here we visit St. Kevin’s Monastery. Glendalough is surrounded by the Camaderry Mountains, Turlough Hills, Conavalla mountain at the head of the valley, and the peaks of Lugduff and Mullacor.
The Monastery was founded in the 6th or 7th century by St. Kevin. Kevin lived as a hermit and by all accounts he didn’t like people. Prior to Kevin’s arrival, Glendalough would have been a very lonely and remote area, which is likely what attracted Kevin to it initially. His companions were animals and birds. He lived his life by fasting, praying and teaching. He is the patron saint of the Diocese of Dublin. One story indicates he was a man of great patience. He held out his hand in which a blackbird built a nest, lays an egg, the egg hatches and the bird fledges and Kevin never moved.
I lovely poem by Seamus Heaney, an Irish author I enjoy.
St Kevin and the Blackbird
And then there was St Kevin and the blackbird.
The saint is kneeling, arms stretched out, inside
His cell, but the cell is narrow, so
One turned-up palm is out the window, stiff
As a crossbeam, when a blackbird lands
And lays in it and settles down to nest.
Kevin feels the warm eggs, the small breast, the tucked
Neat head and claws and, finding himself linked
Into the network of eternal life,
Is moved to pity: now he must hold his hand
Like a branch out in the sun and rain for weeks
Until the young are hatched and fledged and flown.
And since the whole thing’s imagined anyhow,
Imagine being Kevin. Which is he?
Self-forgotten or in agony all the time
From the neck on out down through his hurting forearms?
Are his fingers sleeping? Does he still feel his knees?
Or has the shut-eyed blank of underneath
Crept up through him? Is there distance in his head?
Alone and mirrored clear in love’s deep river,
‘To labour and not to seek reward,’ he prays,
A prayer his body makes entirely
For he has forgotten self, forgotten bird
And on the riverbank forgotten the river’s name.
Seamus Heaney 1996
Some of the monuments in the lower glen of the site are the Gateway, Round Tower, St. Peter and St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Priests House, St. Kevin’s Church, amongst others.
The ruins of the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Glendalough
As well, the property has hiking trails and waterfalls. Vegetation consists of lots of oaks, many mosses, bluebells, bracken, ferns, holly, hazel and mountain ash. Wildlife consists of deer and various species of birdlife such as common merganser, great spotted woodpecker, common redstart, peregrine, cuckoo, and eurasian jay.
After a guided tour and some time on our own to roam about the property, we then headed off for Powerscourt Distillery located on the grounds of the Powerscourt Estate. Distilling began in June 2018 with the first barrels being laid down in August of 2018. According to the website they offer a “complete sensory immersion experience from grain to glass.” We had a guided tour which explained the distilling and maturation process before settling in for a sampling of the award winning Fercullen Irish Whiskeys. I can’t really say which of the three samples was my favourite. 😉
With the taste tasting complete, and some purchases of their products were made, we were soon on our way to Dublin. We had a lovely group meal and our last musical session by our trio of talented men.
I hope you enjoyed Day 8. One more day to go. I’m feeling sad by this point as our time is winding down. Please leave a comment if you wish. I always enjoy the comments.
As always, all photos taken by myself, unless otherwise noted.
As always I enjoyed the photos and the stories. I especially liked reading about St.Kevin. Do you research some of the material or do you read and remember it all…maybe taking good notes. The information is so interesting. Thanks.
Good question Jody. I take pictures of the plaques at the information centres we visit. I write in my journal every night and try to remember tidbits of information from places we travel through, sometimes making notes on the bus. When I started prepping the blogs and looking through my pictures, I’d research the places and people and read about them. A great way to remember the trip and learn more about where I visited and about the people and history.
Another great post! Your pictures indicate you often went off on a ramble and captured some beautiful things that we missed. Thank you for sharing 😊
I did go off on my own at times. I looked at where we’d be and found other interesting things to do on our down time. It was so much fun.
You should be a tour guide. It seems like you had a great trip. Your blog took us with you and never cost us a cent.
I’m glad you enjoyed the posts. It was indeed a wonderful trip.