Cathedrals of Ireland
 

We are traveling in Sept. and wondering if anyone could recommend any Cathedrals not to be missed along the way. We will be in Galway, Dingle Penn., Killarney, SW, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Dublin areas.<BR><BR>Thanks<BR>Dan

Nice, but pretty modern one in Galway City. In between Galway and Dingle is the monastery of the monks who record the Gregorian chant CDs that are so popular. Sorry that I can't remember the name, but you can go to Mass there and hear the chants. It's somewhere close to Limerick. Does that help?

Not sure if it's a cathedral, but the church in Dingle town is lovely inside. If you're looking for something ancient & historic like Notre Dame or Westminster Abbey, there isn't much like that in Ireland. 'Course there are lots of small *old* churches (mostly ruins) and monasteries that can be fun to explore.

St Patricks in Dublin, but it's not longer Catholic.

Hi Dan,<BR><BR>In Dublin both St Patricks and Christ Church are worth visiting. They are two blocks apart. Both have lots of history.<BR><BR>Do the crypt at Christ Church.<BR><BR>

Ireland not really known for it's cathedrals. Poverty in the Middle Ages and lack of central organization. Then the English came along and were not very helpful, either. At one point Cromwell's generals used St. Patrick's in Dublin as a horse stable.<BR>Other than Dublin did not see anything I would call a cathedral. In Dublin, we saw St. Patricks and Christ Church, which were both nice.<BR><BR>But some of the ancient churches and monasteries were very impressive in their own way. The complex at Clonmacnois was very impressive. This is near Athlone in the middle of Ireland on the banks of the Shannon. Also I liked an ancient monastery (or convent) in Cong. I liked some of the ancient cemeteries too, but I'm a little weird that way. My excuse in two of the cemeteries was I was looking for a few names from before my grandfather.

Don't feel bad, Pat! I just love an ancient cemetary, especially one within the ruins of an old church or abbey.

Kilkenny has an Episcopalian Cathedral hundreds of years old which is well preserved and worth a visit.In the grounds is a round tower,about 1,000 years old,which you can climb.<BR>Killarney has a Catholic Cathedral built in the middle of the 19th century.Designed by Pugin,its tower is 300 feet tall.Right beside it is one of the entrances to Killarney National Park,one of the world`s great beauty spots.You can walk from there to Ross Castle in about half an hour.

On your way to the Dingle Peninsula and five miles north of Tralee is the ruins of a 12th century cathedral in Ardfert.It was burned down around 1650 but the government has spent a lot of money on it and the ruins are quite elegant,although not a patch on the buildings on the Rock of Cashel which is on the Dublin-Cork road and is magnificent