Rock of Cashel: February, 2002

Rising dramatically from the Tipperary plain is the Rock of Cashel, the seat of the Kings of Munster from around the 5th Century until a bloody siege by a Cromwellian army in 1647, in what is described as a massacre of its 3,000 occupants. Oliver Cromwell’s esteemed position as a hero of liberty in British History for establishing England as a republican Commonwealth and conquering Ireland and Scotland is seen a bit differently in Ireland.

 

Then again, Cromwell's exploits are relatively recent history in Cashel.

In 450 BC, St. Patrick baptised King Aengus here.

Brian Boru was crowned here and made Cashel his principal seat in 977. 

According to legend, Brian united the Irish leaders to run the Norse out of Ireland, or at least subjugate them to Irish rule, dying in the deciding battle.

Recent scholars, however, claim this was propaganda from the 12th century rather than history, because Ireland had never been conquered by the Vikings.

It is, however, a fact that in the 9th Century Norse raiders attacked Irish targets and established fortified camps that grew into Ireland’s first cities including Dublin, Cork and Limerick. The other line of thought is that most of the Norse became Christians and intermarried with Irish, assimilating into Irish culture.

Someone named O'Brien gave the Rock of Cashel to the church in the early 12th century.

In 1127, Bishop Cormac MacCarthy began constructing Cormac's Chapel. 

Huncreds of years later, England’s King Henry VIII became King of Ireland, and English influence increased in the country. 

After the Reformation, Elizabeth I appointed Protestant archbishops.

From the foot of the Rock of Cashel, you can see another amazing ruin, Hore Abbey, a Cistercian House.

The Cistericans were the "White Monks" (because of the color of their robes) who rejected develop-ment that took place after the time of St. Benedict, choosing austere lives with manual labor like field work.

They sought strict adherence to the Rules of St. Benedict, and rejected all develop-ment of the Benedictines since St. Benedict's time.

The Rule of St. Benedict from the 6th Century was intended to help establish order for a community of monks and promote spiritual growth, but most likely St.Benedict never intended to establish a religious order.


The Cistercians were the great farmers of their day, and they greatly influenced the Middle Ages with their agricultural operation improvements.

So much history took place in this area, it is hard to fathom, especially for those of us coming from Southern California, where buildings over a hundred years old are rare.



V.K. Boos School, which I attended from Kinder-garten through sixth grade, seemed as permanent as anything, and when I took my children to visit their grandmother, I would take them there to rollerskate and fly kites, but even that has been supplanted by a new housing tract.



We're fortunate to have the opportunity to visit landmarks where history unfolded and catch a glimpse of the past.

It does make me wonder, however, if these monumental reminders of history keep old wounds from healing when the memories aren't sweet.