by Fifth Class On Friday, the 20th of January 2012 5th class boys went to the Rock of Cashel and had a guided tour of the once home of Brian Boru. We discovered many interesting facts about the Rock from James McGrath, our tour guide On the Rock today, you can see a round tower, the cathedral, Cormac’s Chapel, the Vicar’s Coral, the dormitory and a museum which houses the original St Patrick’s Cross and many other artefacts. The Museum stores the precious sandstone Latin cross to protect it from erosion by the elements. You can, however, see a concrete replica in it’s original position. There are many legends surrounding the cross. One such legend tells that if you hop around the cross on one foot in an anti-clockwise direction 9 times, you will be married within the year. The Rock is one of the greatest sculptures in the world even Queen Elizabeth II requested a visit to this site on her recent historic trip making her the second monarch to visit the site since King Henry II in the 12th century. There are many different architecture styles to the site. Large windows and sculptures boast styles such as Gothic, Romanesque and Celtic. All the current buildings on the Rock were built after 1101. St Cormac Chapel is currently undergoing preservation works. Due to its sandstone structure, it has taken a battering from the elements. This church was one of the first churches built inIreland. The architectural style is Romanesque. There are two rooms in the attic in Cormac’s Chapel, Cormac McCarthy himself was killed in one. We saw the grave of Cormac McCarthy. Frescoes were recently discovered approximately 30 years ago underneath white wash which was an attempt to rid the Chapel of it Catholic image as the site changed hands many times. We could see where the artists used the very special and expensive Lapis Lazuli in the paintings. Unfortunately, the cathedral has no roof on it today, but it is still an impressive building. James told us about the high up murdering doors that would have been used to throw hot oil on approaching enemies. In the 5th century St Patrick returned from France after his studies. We heard of the story where St Patrick baptised the king and he accidently stuck his staff through the kings foot. The King thought it part of the baptism and endured it in silence. St Patricks cross was a Latin cross. On one side of his cross there is a picture of Jesus on it. In 1975 there was a thunder storm and a High Celtic cross was struck by lightning, fell and is still on the ground. The round tower or teach clog still stands. It would have been used in the past to keep a watch out for enemies. We really enjoyed our trip to the Rock and would like to thank the site and our guide for welcoming us.
