Castle Cashel (Rock of Saint Patrick) (Ireland)

St. Patrick's Rock

The Rock of Cashel (Irish: Carraig Phádrai), also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick’s Rock, is located at Cashel, South Tipperary in Ireland. The Rock of Cashel was the residence of the kings of Munster several years prior to the Norman invasion. St. Patrick lived and preached in Cashel in V century; as time went by the Rock of Cashel became one of religious centers, and after a slaughter carried out in the castle by Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers the castle became a symbol of English cruelty, real Irish courage and fortitude of the spirit.

The history of the castle began in IV century A.D. when Corc Mac Lorsa from Eoghanachta clan established a fortification on the height of 60 meters (Cashel means “fortification” in Gael). It became the residence of the kings of Munster, a southern province of Ireland.

In 450 A.D. St. Patrick arrived to the Rock of Cashel and converted king Aengus into Christianity. In 964 the Rock of Cashel was captured by Brian Boru, the High king of Ireland; in 977 he was crowned in the castle in Munster. In 1101 Cashel was given into possession of the church, after which it became a religious center.

In 1127, Cormac’s Chapel was built and the cross of St. Patrick was established.
In 1152, the Rock of Cashel became the residence of the Bishops, and in 1169 Archbishop Donald O’Brian began construction of a cathedral beside the castle. The construction of the cathedral was completed only in 1234.

During the war in Ireland in 1647 Cashel was looted by Parliamentarian troops under Murrough O’Brien, 1st Earl of Inchiquin (he was also able to seize the Cahir Castle nearby Cashel).

Many residents were killed; spiritual sanctuaries were looted. Theobald Stapleton, the author of the first Catholic catechesis in Old Irish language, was also killed. According to historians, around 3000 people got killed. Residents of Cashel sought refuge within the walls of the Cathedral and were burnt alive by Cromwell’s soldiers.

At the present time the castle is open for general public and in it there is reconstruction work being done.

Today’s Rock of Cashel consists of several buildings and especially interesting monuments. One of the oldest buildings is the medieval castle. During the wars it was significantly damaged, the upper floors were torn down; the upper part of the western wall is missing.

The second old construction is the round tower, 28 meters high. Its construction is dated back as long as 1100. The entrance into the tower is located 3, 5 meters above the ground. The tower is built using the method of “dry stone.” The bricks are not connected by a matrix but are holding up because of the correct selection of stones and the correct balance of weight. At the present time a part of the space between the stones is grouted with limestone matrix for safety reasons. The purpose of the tower is unknown although usually towers like this were used for storing valuables and as watchtowers.

As legend has it the round Rock of Cashel was built by Archbishop Cormac McCarthy in one night. Because of it the enemy that had been besieging the castle was defeated.

The building of Cormac’s Chapel was begun at the time of reign of king-biphop Cashel Cormac MacCarthy. In it many elements that are not typical for Ireland were joined. One of them is the two little towers before the entry into the chapel. It is believed that the Abbot of Regensburg sent two of his carpenters for the building of the Chapel.

The chapel has two doorways; each of them is decorated with carved tympanum. The tympanums are considered to be “the gem of Cashel”; on one of them a centaur in a helmet with an arrow aimed at a lion is depicted. On the walls of the altar one can see fragments of ancient frescos, and in the depth of the Chapel there’s a sarcophagus where before there used to be the remains of either a king or a priest of Cashel. The sarcophagus now is empty, and the remains are in the National Museum of Dublin.

The Cathedral built between 1235 and 1270 is an aisle-less building of cruciform plan, having a central tower and terminating westwards in a massive residential castle. In the center of the Cathedral there’s a high tower. Within the walls of the Cathedral one can find several carved tombs. Despite their age they still marvel people with the mastery of the carvers. In the center of the Cathedral there’s a place called The Crossing. If you look up you can see a beautifully decorated arch.

The castle was once walled but now only foundation of this wall is left. One could get into the Rock of Cashel through the Hall of Vicars Choral. Now a museum is located here, in which one can look at the archaeological finds on the territory of the castle.

In the Hall there’s the Tomb of Miler Magrath. Once in XVII century he became notorious for being at the same time both Protestant and Catholic Archbishop.

Beside the Round tower is an old Irish cemetery with a great number of Celtic crosses. In front of the entry into the Cathedral there’s the cross of St. Patrick dedicated to the latter’s visitation of the Rock of Cashel. Actually it is only a copy – the original is kept in the museum.

At the foot of the hill, on which the Rock of Cashel is located there’s the Palace of the Archbishop (built in 1730). For 200 years it was the residence of the Head of the Irish Church, and now is a hotel.

Not far from the Rock of Cashel one can see the ruins of a Cistercian monastery Hore Abbey founded in 1272. The central building was constructed in XV century but in 1541 during the reign of Henry VIII the monastery was closed. In the vicinity of the city there are three more significant monasteries: Holy Cross Abbey (14 kilometers) founded in 1168 году; Kilcooly (27 kilometers) and Athassel Abbey (8 kilometers) – the biggest Medieval Abbey of Ireland founded in XII century.

The information is taken from the Internet resource:

http://www.allcastles.ru/ireland/rock-of-cashel.html