Rock of Cashel

The Rock of Cashel is in County Tipperary, Ireland. It was the traditional home of the Kings of Munster prior to the Norman invasion but in 1101 the fortress on the rock was gifted to the church. Little remains from this time although the round tower does date to around this period. Other building work was spread over subsequent years, notably the cathedral betweem 1235 and 1270. During the Irish Confederate Wars Cashel was sacked by English Parliamentary troops and less then 100 years later, in a much critisized move, the Archbishop of Cashel destroyed the cathedral roof. This naturally led to further decline but today Cashel is a National Monument of Ireland and a very popular tourist attraction, with good reason as we saw last month.