Rock of Cashel

Long before the church took it over, Cashel was a centre of royal power and the seat of the kings of Munster. Legend says St Patrick converted King Aenghus here in the fifth century, and Brian Boru, later High King of Ireland, was crowned at Cashel and made it his capital.

In 1101 the Rock was granted to the Church, and it became a major centre of ecclesiastical power. The round tower, dating from around 1100, is the oldest surviving building. Cormac's Chapel was begun in 1127 and consecrated in 1134, and the Gothic cathedral followed in the thirteenth century. The Hall of the Vicars Choral was added in the fifteenth century. In 1647, during the Irish Confederate Wars, Parliamentarian troops sacked Cashel, looting and destroying many religious artefacts.

Cashel is a small market town, and the Rock dominates its skyline and identity. The site's official address, St Patrick's Rock, recalls the legend of the saint's visit, and the Rock sits in the fertile farmland of the Golden Vale. The Rock remains a place of heritage and memory, so visitors are asked to treat the graveyard with respect.