Cashel Things to Do

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Brú Ború (Lair of Boru) is a cultural heritage centre at the foot of the Rock of Cashel. This cultural village is designed around a village green and is a home to the study and celebration of native Irish music, song, dance, theatre and Celtic studies. It has a folk theatre, genealogy centre, restaurant and other amenities.

The Brú Ború traditional group have performed worldwide. They represented Ireland at Expo 90 in Japan and Expo 92 in Spain. They perform for conferences and other events. They have performed on many television networks worldwide. Brú Ború performed in China in Autumn 1998 having received an official invitation from the Chinese government.

The group perform shows during the summer season and tickets can be booked by phone for the show. Tickets are also available for the show complete with a Pre-Show three course meal.

The centre also houses an underground exhibition area entitled the Sounds of History.
The Sounds of History exhibition tells the story of Irish music, song and dance through the ages and has various artefacts including broze Irish horns and bells as well as an Irish Harp. The exhibition has interactive exhibitions and an audio visual presentation as well as an audio visual exhibition on The Rock of Cashel.

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The Rock of Cashel also has a small museum on site. The museum contains the original St. Patrick's Cross which was replaced outside by a reproduction model. The museum also contains the crozier found in the stone sarcophagus in Cormac's Chapel and the bronze bell of Cashel.
THe museum is located just of the entrance area in the Rock of Cashel

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Hore Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery near the Rock of Cashel.
'Hore' is thought to derive from 'iubhair' – yew tree. The former Benedictine abbey at Hore was given to the Cistercians by Archbishop David MacCearbhaill (in 1270), who later entered the monastery. He endowed the Abbey generously with land, mills and other benefices previously belonging to the town. The story, beloved of tour-guides, that he evicted the Benedictines after a dream that they were about to kill him, is unlikely to be true and probably arises from the Archbishop's 'interference' with the commerce of the city of Cashel. His disfavour of the established orders in Cashel certainly caused local resentment. He was resented by some of the towns-people, being considered too much in favour of the Irish by the more Anglicised. This is evident in the objection by the thirty-eight local brewers to the levy of two flagons out of every brewing and in the murder of two monks who were visiting the town.

The abbey is located on private property and direct access is prohibited.

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Dominic's Abbey is situated close to the Rock of Cashel on Dominic's Street.The Abbey was founded in 1243 by Archbishop David Mc Kelly. David Mc Kelly was a Dominican friar and was appointed as Dean of Cashel. He became Bishop of Cloyne and in 1238 he was appointed Archbishop of Cashel. He died on 2nd March 1253 and was buried in the Chapel of the Apostles on The Rock.
It has been suggested that the carving of the bishop which is now on Miler Mc Graths tomb was originally on the tomb of Archbishop Mc Kelly. Dominic's Abbey was supplied with monks from the Friary in Cork and in 1289 and 1307 General Chapters of the Order were held in Cashel. The abbey is made from limestone and has cruciform plan with a high tower over the crossing.
The Abbey gates are locked but if you wish to enter the Abbey the keys are available from the resident's of 19 Dominic's St. which is the first house to the right of the Abbey.

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The Hall of the Vicar's Choral is another hugely impressive building at The Rock. The hall contaoins many impressive wood carvings. THe interior is mainly of wood and has been very nicely restored. The restoration project on the Hall was an undertaking by the Office of Public Works to coincide with the European Architectural Heritage Year in 1975.

The vicars choral were given the honour of chanting at the cathedral services. Originally there were eight vicars choral, each possessing their own seal. This was later reduced to five vicars choral who appointed singing-men as their deputies, a practice which continued until 1836.

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The oldest existing builing at The Rock is the limestone Round Tower, One of Ireland's finest examples. The tower is very well preserved and is 28 metres high making it the tallest building in the complex.The tower dates from around 1100. The entrance to the tower is 12 feet above the ground. This is common in Irish Round Towers and served as a defence mechanism. The doorway was reached by a ladder which was then pulled up after the occupants to prevent attackers from following. Unusually for a round tower, you cannot walk the whole way around as one side of the tower is joined to the Cathedral which was built at a later date.

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The Cathedral at The Rock of Cashel was built between 1235 and 1270 and is the largest structure in the complex. The Cathedral replaced an earlier structure. Work started in 1235 and the central tower was added in the 14th century. A castle fortification was built at the western end in the early 15th century. The Cathedral is laid out in an aisle-less cruciform plan.

During the attack by English forces parts of the Cathedral were destroyed and many artefacts also destroyed or stolen.

In the Cathedral there are a number of 16th century carved tombs and the chancel holds the effigy of the pluralist Miler McGrath, Archbishop from 1571 to 1621.

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Cormac's Chapel at The Rock of Cashel sticks out from the rest of the buildings in the complex due to it's colouring. The Chapel is built from sandstone unlike the other buildings on the Rock which are built from limestone. The sandstone gives the chapel on brownish tinge compared to the grey coluring of the limestone buildings.

The Chapel was commisioned by Bishop McCarthy and construction began in 1127. The Chapel was consecrated in 1134. It is one of Ireland's finest examples of Romanesque architecture. Most Irish Romanesque buildings are very plain in design but Cormac's Chapel is an exception. This is due in aprt to the fact that the Abbot of Regensburg sent two of his carpenters to help in the work and the twin towers on either side chapel have strong Germanic influence.
Other notable features of the building include interior and exterior arcading, a barrel-vaulted roof, a carved tympanum over both doorways, the magnificent North Doorway and Chancel Arch.

Recently magnificent frescos have been discovered in the Chapel. These frescos had been painted over at some point but now great efforts are being made to remove this outer layer af paint to uncover the fantastic frescos underneath. This process is under way at present and I look forward to the day when it is complete.

Another notable feature in the Chapel is the ornate stone sarcophagus, complete with snaking Celtic design in which a bishops crozier was discovered.