Cloyne in East Cork
Cloyne is a village in East Cork which we drove through on our way from Garryvoe Beach on my first day in Ireland. Though only a village, Cloyne boasts a cathedral, built on the site of an early Christian monastery founded here by St Colman Mac Lenene around 560. The monastery buildings were burned in 1137.The Church of Ireland Cathedral dates back to 1250 but, having been completely modernised over the centuries, it little resembles the original structure. Its most famous bishop was George Berkeley, the great 18th century philosopher.Right opposite the cathedral is a round tower, one of a number of such constructions in Ireland dating back to the Middle Ages. Once thought to have been used as watchtowers to warn the inhabitants against Viking invasions, they are now believed to have served simply as bell towers, which their name in Gaelic - cloictheath, or bellhouse, clearly suggests....




















