Clonmacnoise is one of the 3 key early Irish Monastery (the other being Glendalough and Skelig Michael) that later spread teaching all over Europe. St Ciarán founded his monastery on the banks of the River Shannon in the 6th Century. Impressive display of the original high crosses, including the magnificent 10th century Cross of the Scriptures. So important that Pope John Paul II came here in 1979 to give mass.

We were inspired to visit Clonmacnoise after seeing it in Gabriel’s history text book. It is only about 1.5 hours drive from Dublin and through good roads. There are 2 parts of to the exhibition, the museum and also the outdoor site. Clonmacnoise is managed by OPW and we could use our heritage family card for entrance.

Clonmacnoise Visitor Center

The visitor center is where you would start the visit. There is a room where they show a video on the history of Clonmacnoise. I recommend that you don’t miss the video. We find it very informative and very good production quality. Tells you everything you need to know and what you will see on the site.

The main attractions are the huge Celtic crosses. There are 3 crosses which they have moved indoors to stop to decay from outside elements. They made replicas of these crosses and place them outside where the crosses were taken from. There is a good diagram in the visitor center to explain what story behind the carving on the cross. I would say it is impressive based on the time when the crosses were made, shows the sophistication of the people back then.

Monastic Site

The monastic site is littered with graves, it is still an active catholic cemetery. There are a few buildings worth a visit. The cathedral is the main building on the site. On the right side of the building, there is an doorway with 3 figures in top. That is the whispering doorway. Put your ear on one side of the door frame, you can hear when people whisper on the other side of the door frame.

St Ciarán tomb is one of the smaller buildings with an unmistakable tombstone in the building. There is also a covered area where Pope John Paul II gave his sermon in 1979.

The site is mainly grass, there is little marked walking trails. It was wet and muddy when we went, so be prepare with the right shoes.