VALE OF

GLENDALOUGH  , a mountain glen of Co . Wicklow, Ireland, celebrated and frequently visited both on account of its scenic beauty and, more especially, because of the collection of ecclesiastical remains situated in it . Fortunately for its appearance, it is not approached by any railway, but services of cars are maintained to several points, of which Rathdrum, 82 m . S.E., is the nearest railway station, on the Dublin & South-Eastern . The glen is traversed by the stream of Glenealo, a tributary of the Avonmore, expanding into small loughs, the Upper and the Lower . The former of these is walled by the abrupt heights of Camaderry (2296 ft.) and Lugduff (2176 ft.), and here the extreme narrowness of the valley adds to its grandeur; while lower down, where it widens, the romantic character of the scenery is enhanced by the scattered ruins of the former monastic settlement . These ruins have the collective name of the " Seven Churches." The settlement owed its foundation to the hermit St Kevin, who is reputed to have died on the 3rd of June 618; and it rapidly became a seat of learning of wide fame, but suffered much at the hands of the Danes and the Anglo-Normans . In close proximity to an hotel, and to one another, in an enclosure, are a round tower, one of the finest in Ireland, 11c ft. high and 52 in circumference; St Kevin's kitchen or church (closely resembling the house of St Columba at Kells), which measures 25 ft. by 15, with a high-pitched roof and round belfry—supposed to be the earliest example of its type; and the cathedral, about 73 ft. in total length by 51 in width . This possesses a good square-headed doorway, and an east window of ornate character (the chancel being of later date than the nave), and there are also some early tombs, but the whole is in a decayed condition . In the enclosure are also a Lady chapel, chiefly remarkable for its doorway of wrought granite, in a style of architecture resembling Greek; a priest's house (restored), and slight remains of St Chiaran's church . Here is also St Kevin's cross, a granite monolith never completed; and the enclosure is entered by a fine though dilapidated gateway . Other neighbouring remains are Trinity or the Ivy Church, towards Laragh, with beautiful detailed work; St Saviour's monastery, carefully restored under the direction of the Board of Works, with a chancel arch of three orders (re-erected); while on the shores of the upper lough are Reefert Church, the burial-place of the O'Toole family, and Teampull-na-skellig, the church of the rock .

St Kevin's

bed is a cave approachable with difficulty, above the lough, probably a natural cavity artificially enlarged, to which attaches the legend of St Kevin's hermitage . Along the valley there are a number of monuments and stone crosses of various sizes and styles . The whole collection forms, with the possible exception of Clonmacnoise in King's county, the most striking monument of monasticism in Ireland .