Rock of Cashel

(Cue thunderclap and scary music)


(Spooky voice) Welcome to the Rock of Cashel ... mwah ha ha ha.

Actually, I'm sure the Rock of Cashel is just lovely when the sun is shining. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing for sure, because it was absolutely pouring rain when we were there. This OPW tour has the dubious distinction of being unquestionably the wettest of all those I experienced in Ireland. It wasn't raining when we arrived, just kind of grey. The fact that our tour guide, Denis, appeared dressed entirely in plastic should have tipped me off about what was to come, but by then it was too late to go back for my poncho. It rained as if all the watery matter of the universe was collapsing upon this Irish hillside. I was absurdly, heroically wet. It wasn't until the following afternoon that the stitching on my jacket finally dried out.



This is Denis, my favourite OPW tour guide. He was funny and easy going, despite the rain, and he was clearly keen on his subject. He told us lots of little tidbits that others may not have. For example, he pointed out that the "defense" justification for the elevated entrance to the round tower is probably flawed. The idea that the inhabitants could just retreat into their tower with all of their treasures, burn away the stairs and be safe from attackers sounds reasonable enough on the first pass. However, as Denis pointed out, if you're a Viking and you've come all the way here to get the treasures, you're not going to be put off that easily. You're going to find a way in. You're going to burn the door away and get the treasures out. Denis suggested that the elevated door is probably only an effective defence against animals like sheep and cattle who might want to eat some of the holy books or food stored in the tower.



Cashel, like most consecrated ground in Ireland, is packed from bedrock to grass with graves. In fact, Denis told us, no matter where you're standing here, you're standing on someone's grave, marked or unmarked. Just as he said that there was a mighty thunderclap and Denis seemed rather startled. The structure above is actually a large family tomb. There used to be a big cross on the top of it but it was hit by lightening in a storm and the cross fell away. This is one of those graves of a once great family that has now been forgotten and is not maintained.

The site was originally a castle with its own rich history as the seat of a local King. The castle was won and lost in battle and politics for a long time until finally the last king of a weakened family donated the site to the church, partly to buy his way into heaven as a benefactor of the church, but also to keep it out of the hands of his political rivals. Once the church took control of the site it entered a new phase in its history, as the seat of the Archbishop and an important centre of worship.


Denis was very excited to show us Cormack's chapel. Consecrated in 1134 it is a Romanesque church with some German influences. In addition to complex architectural features, the chapel features one of the best preserved Irish frescoes from this period. See those little blotches of colour. That's a well preserved fresco. The paints and dyes used to the create the fresco are of the richest kind. The blue is Lapus Lazuli, more precious than gold and found in far away places, it gives some indication of the effort that went into this building.



Near Cormack's Chapel is the choir house, the residence of the 8 members of the famous choir that was based at this location. The choir members were chosen purely for the quality of their voices. They needn't be ordained and enjoyed considerable benefits from their elevated status. They had the use of the comfortable choir house and their duties were light, singing in the Cathedral. They also carried the seal of the choir, pictured above. This was a kind of early credit card. Choir members could stamp any invoice in the town with this seal and the Archbishop would pay the bills as they came in. Unfortunately, the choir members were pioneers of early credit card fraud and a number of copies of this seal were distributed to friends and family. Finally the cost simply grew out of hand and the Archbishop cut off their access to the ecclesiastical purse.

The cruciform cathedral that they sang in has been through a lot, but its skeleton survives. The bones have a few sad stories to tell. In the photograph below, note the small hole in the wall to the right of the Gothic arches. This is the leper hole. Lepers could climb up onto a timber scaffold outside the cathedral and watch the service without the rest of the congregation having to see them. The hole is angled at 45 degrees so that the lepers can see the service, but the congregation cannot see them.

This tomb in the chancery has an interesting story. It is the tomb of an Archbishop, only such an important person would be interred in such a special place. But this Archbishop was Cormac McGrath, the Scoundrel of Cashel. He had such a dodgy career, protected by his political and economic power, that I'll leave you to read it all on the link. A few brief highlights include being simultaneously an Anglican Archbishop in the south and a Catholic Bishop in the north and somehow managing to have a wife and nine children at the same time. The two churches decided to bide their time and seize the scoundrel's assets when he died. Unfortunately, for many of them, McGrath had the last laugh by living to be 100 years old. Even in death his behaviour was reprehensible. The carved stone on top of his tomb was stolen from another man's grave.