We skip now to Day Four of Celtic Spirit. One of Ireland’s most treasured and iconic sites, Clonmacnoise, is on offer today as the group travels eastward. Our narrator is Jake.

Celtic Spirit Chapter Four    

Jake speaking, “Fantastic. For me, this is Ireland. From the minute Clonmacnoise popped up on the landscape of green pastures along the river, I was thrilled. To think that the Round Tower has stood over the centuries, overlooking the land and its people. Then, to see the High Crosses. The remains of the scriptorium, which as Megan and Trish said, “saved civilization.” I think this, not Tara, should be considered the heart of Ireland; and the heart of the Church. The Vatican may be the modern day center. But this place is its soul. I think I’m more in awe of this place than I was the Vatican. 

I can’t wait to hear more from our docent, Ian. He seems so knowledgeable and there is so much detail and context I wouldn’t get just walking about on my own. Ian starts walking the grounds with us and explaining what all around us is. 

“There were nine churches, two round towers, a nunnery, a scriptorium, hundreds of early gravestones, and crosses. Of special significance are the High Crosses and the samples of how the simple Celtic cross evolved over the years. In broad strokes, he points out similarities and differences among the fifty-plus crosses on site. He shows us where the land divided the consecrated ground from the non-consecrated. I see little difference, but he says the High Kings paid handsomely for the privilege of being buried in the consecrated ground. I guess consecrated ground, a High Cross, and bags of money got you into heaven. 

We walk over to the churches and ruins of churches, with Ian explaining the origin and time period of each. He then tells us about Pope John’s visit here in 1979 and how thousands of people gathered down the grassy slope, past the nunnery in the meadow along the Shannon. I can picture it as he speaks.

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