St Declan's Well and Oratory

Ardmore St declan

Ardmore, a short tour of the Monastic sites of this most historic village in Ireland.

Ardmore Round Tower & St Declan's Church

On a hill above the village of Ardmore in Co Waterford is a well-preserved 30-m-high, 12th-century round tower and the ruins of a Cathedral and oratory dating from the 13th and 8th centuries respectively.

One of the outer walls of the Cathedral features some stone carvings retrieved from an earlier 9th-century building. The carvings include a very early image of a harp, images of Adam and Eve in the garden and a representation of Solomon's judgement. The Cathedral also contains two Ogham stones, which rest in small alcoves.

Some elements of the original structure can still be seen within the building.

Ireland Pilgrimage, 2015

What a trip! It was a five-day pilgrimage to Ireland, and the following were the itinerary:

Day One:
1. Glendalough, in the Wicklow Mountains National Park, county Wicklow;
2. St Colman's Russian Orthodox Church, county Laois;
3. Ardmore Cathedral & St Declan's Oratory, county Waterford.

Day 2:
1. Cnoc Breanainn (or Mount Brandon, of St Brandon the Navigator).

Day 3:
1. Craogh Patrick (where St Patrick's resting place is at the summit).

Day 4:
1. Skellig Michael, with the 'beehives' monastic dwellings (believed to be founded by St Finian).

Day 5:
1. St Brigid Cathedral
2. St Brigid's well.

For the techno geeks out there, all the footages and still photos in the video were captured with the Sony DSC RX100 compact camera, often with the circular polariser filter screwed on. Sometimes a 10-stop ND filter was attached with the polariser to get the 'silky' water effects, and for the Croagh Patrick sunrise timelapse sequence, it was done in aperture priority, continuous shooting mode, with a purpose-built Velcro strap around the camera mounted on a small flexi-tripod, and a remote mechnical shutter release gadget attached on top of the shutter. Most of the video footages were originally captured with shutter set to 1/60s, at ISO 125 (base ISO), AE mode, AVCHD 50fps (progressive). The stills were post processed in Light room 6, while the videos were edited in Sony Movie Studio v.12...

Tour Recap - Thin Places Tour of Ireland - the South

This is a five-minute recap of the Thin Places Mystical Tour of Ireland tour or 2011. Guests traveled to the southern region of Ireland.

They began in Dublin as most Ireland tours do - being close to the airport. First stops were the Hill of Tara and the Boyne Valley with the Newgrange passage tomb. Then a stop in Kildare to visit Solas Bhride the center run by the Brigidine sisters who embrace the spirit of St. Brigid in the place where Brigid began her ministry. Then on to St. Brigid's Cathedral and Holy Well.

A stop at Holy Cross Abbey in Thurles to view the relic of the true cross, then a two-day stop in Cashel to see the Rock of Cashel, Hoare (Hore) Abbey and Athassel Priory (all monastic ruins).

Following the path of another saint, the group visited Ardmore and the ruins of St. Declan's monastery along with St. Declan's rock and holy well, followed by a mystical journey to Drombeg Stone Circle and Gouganne Barra - the site of a monastery founded by St. Finbarr.

Then on to the Beara Peninsula with a scenic drive through the Caja Mountaines with stops at the Uragh Stone Circle, the Hag of Beara, the Children of Lir monument and the town of Allihies.

The tour concluded with a stay on the Dingle Peninsula with views of Slea Head and the Blasket Islands and stops at many megaliths including the Gallarus Oratory, Dunbeg Fort and view of ancient ogham stones.

IMAGES: All photo images by Mindie Burgoyne
MUSIC: Skye Cullin by Kevin McLeod incompetech.com Used with permission.


For more information on thin places in Ireland or tours to thin places visit

Aughagower Medival Church And Round Tower (AD 441)

Aughagower or Aghagower (Irish: Achadh Ghobhair, meaning Field of the Springs) is a tiny village in rural County Mayo in western Ireland. It is located about 5 km from Westport. Modern Aughagower has only a few houses and pubs in a pastoral setting. It also forms the centre of a parish of the same name.
Aughagower is said to have been visited by St. Patrick, on his journey to Croagh Patrick. Aughagower lies mid-way along Tóchar Phádraig, formerly a part of the royal processional route from Cruachan (the ancient capital of Connacht), and later an important pilgrimage route from Ballintubber Abbey to Croagh Patrick.

It was founded in 441 by St. Patrick who placed over it Bishop Senach; the Book of Armagh tells us that bishops dwelt there in the time of the writer (early part of the ninth century).The jurisdiction of Aghagower extended over the Owles, the territory around Clew Bay, comprising the modern deanery of Westport. But at an early date these churches were absorbed first into the Diocese of Mayo and afterwards into that of Tuam.

Dabhach Phadraig is a circular bath surrounded by a stone wall, where pilgrims may have washed their feet.

Tobair na nDeachan (the well of the deacons), now dried up, was where pilgrims drank water while performing the pilgrimage. A tree growing over Dabhach Phadraig was said to have curative powers. The soil was applied in a poultice and when the ailment was cured the soil must be returned.