Location – In Castledermot in the grounds of a modern Church of Ireland churchyard. All of the sites here are in the graveyard and are easy to find. I do not have GPS co-ordinates for each site so you will just have to go searching...but that’s half the fun sometimes.
OS: S 784 849 (map 61)
Longitude: 6° 50' 4.37" W
Latitude: 52° 54' 33.39" N
GPS: S 78404 84985 (Elevation: 84m – Accuracy: 5m)
See map at the bottom of the page.
Description and History – Because of the many things to see at this site I have divided them up and given them separate pages. I will give the history of the site here and then talk about the individual sites on their own pages.
This really is a wonderful place. There is so much to see here in such a small area. There is a round tower, the restored remains of a Romanesque archway, two high crosses, a cross base, a Scandinavian hog-back grave marker, a holed stone and three cross slabs. There are also some other unusual graves here.
This site first began as a small hermitage founded by St Diarmaid in 812. He came here to escape the pressures of life but people quickly began to seek him out for his wisdom and a monastery grew up around him. The Vikings plundered the site twice in the 9th century and the round tower was built in the 10th century and the monastery burned down in 1106. All that remains of this foundation is the reconstructed Romanesque archway. Click below to read more about the individual sites...and to see some pictures:
1. The Romanesque archway.
2. The round tower.
3. The North cross.
4. The South cross.
5. The cross base, cross slabs, holed stone and hog-back grave marker.
Difficulty – This is an easy site to get to as it is in a still used churchyard. It is also very easy to get around.
For more ecclesiastical sites, click here.
For more sites in Co. Kildare, click here.
View The Standing Stone in a larger map
OS: S 784 849 (map 61)
Longitude: 6° 50' 4.37" W
Latitude: 52° 54' 33.39" N
GPS: S 78404 84985 (Elevation: 84m – Accuracy: 5m)
See map at the bottom of the page.
Description and History – Because of the many things to see at this site I have divided them up and given them separate pages. I will give the history of the site here and then talk about the individual sites on their own pages.
This really is a wonderful place. There is so much to see here in such a small area. There is a round tower, the restored remains of a Romanesque archway, two high crosses, a cross base, a Scandinavian hog-back grave marker, a holed stone and three cross slabs. There are also some other unusual graves here.
This site first began as a small hermitage founded by St Diarmaid in 812. He came here to escape the pressures of life but people quickly began to seek him out for his wisdom and a monastery grew up around him. The Vikings plundered the site twice in the 9th century and the round tower was built in the 10th century and the monastery burned down in 1106. All that remains of this foundation is the reconstructed Romanesque archway. Click below to read more about the individual sites...and to see some pictures:
1. The Romanesque archway.
2. The round tower.
3. The North cross.
4. The South cross.
5. The cross base, cross slabs, holed stone and hog-back grave marker.
Difficulty – This is an easy site to get to as it is in a still used churchyard. It is also very easy to get around.
For more ecclesiastical sites, click here.
For more sites in Co. Kildare, click here.
View The Standing Stone in a larger map
