Glendalough

On Saturday morning we joined in with the parish meditation group. After that Caroline, a member of the congregation took us with Fr Jim and Sarah L to Glendalough Abbey - one of the earliest monasteries in Ireland and home of the famous St Kevin. 

Glendalough (meaning - the glen or valley between the lakes) is situated in the Wicklow Hills about 30 kms south of Dublin. It is a beautiful place and rich in history. 

Here is  St Kevin’s chapel and adjoining cell. It felt cold and damp. It would have been a tough existence despite the natural beauty of the place.

There are many stories of St Kevin’s compassion and asceticism  - e.g., of him standing for hours praying in the freezing lough (lock), and of him nursing the black bird in his raised palm for days after it alighted there and laid an egg (until the egg hatched!). Fr Jim regaled us with another story today. Apparently, when Kevin was struggling with chastity he would throw himself into a nearby nettle bush - an effective way of reducing temptation!!

As you can see from this photo there is plenty of water about. In fact, it’s been very wet this past 36 hours. Cold and wet. Everyone we meet keeps apologising for the weather. Mind you, they often add, with a twinkle in the eye: T’is a soft day, tank God! Adding to this later, Fr Dermott suggested that Ireland would be a wonderful place if someone could put a roof on it. 

We returned to take part in the Saturday evening parish mass in which we celebrated Palm Sunday along with the long Passion reading from St Matthew’s gospel.

Later again, we caught the luas into the city to share in a final meal with Sarah. 

Meanwhile, our Benedictus community back in Canberra were marching in the Palm Sunday rally for refugees. They even made the evening news. Go team!