Ardmore Cliff Walk

The ruin of this small stone church is known as St. Declan’s Disert, or Desert, and it is traditionally believed to be a hermitage where St. Declan retired to die in peace, away from the bustle of the monastery. St. Declan’s Life records that ‘he lived at that time in a narrow place close to the sea, where a shining stream flows down from the hills above. It is surrounded by trees and bushes, and is called Declán’s Desert…Declan went there to avoid the noise, so he could pray and fast there’. The building appears to be late medieval in date, and possibly formed part of the pilgrimage tradition that focused on the site. It stands just next to St. Declan’s Holy Well.

St. Declan’s Well appears to be late medieval in date, and it is capped with two stone crosses. It was an important part of the pilgrimage tradition. Up into the earlier part of the 20th century, pilgrims came in their droves to spend all night in prayer at the well. An account from 1840 described how ‘the crowd formed a long line winding up the narrow path that leads to St. Declan’s Chapel… on your right hand is the well St. Declan blessed. Then they knelt down and said their prayers… at twenty different periods I counted the people as they passed. They averaged fifty-five a minute, which gives a total of twelve or fifteen thousand persons.’

Ardmore’s round tower is one of the most striking examples in Ireland. It is a little later than most, as it is believed to be 12th century, with elements of Romanesque architecture. It tapers to a height of 30 metres (98 ft) and has a doorway positioned about 4 metres (13 ft) above ground level. The round rower is also unusual in the three distinct external ring courses, after each of which the wall is inset a little which adds to the dramatic tapering effect, giving it the appearance of an old-style folding telescope. The location of the tower to south of the cathedral, rather than to the usual south-west, has led Professor Tadhg O’Keeffe to speculate that the tower may be older than the cathedral. Interestingly, a number of corbels are apparent inside the tower, some of which are carved with grotesque human heads. I’d love to have a look at that myself!

The earliest structure is the small building called St Declan’s Oratory or St. Declan’s House, which may date as early as the 8th century, and reputedly houses the grave of St Declan. It is a tomb-church with projecting antae and noticeably larger stones forming the lower courses of the building. It was renovated in 1716 by Dr Thomas Mills, Bishop of Waterford, who added the northern doorway, restored the stone roof restored and altered the eastern window, it was at this time that an ogham stone was found here, and moved inside the cathedral. The building has a limestone flagged floor that surrounds a rectangular pit, that was traditionally believed to be the grave of St. Declan. Pilgrim’s took samples of earth from here to protect against disease. A small cross-inscribed black stone known as the Duivhin Deaglain or Dhubheen Deaglain – the little black stone of Declan – was found here, but it has long since been lost.

The largest building on site is the ruin of the cathedral, which dates to the second half of the 12th century. It consists of a long nave and chancel. It has a fine chancel arch, along with a number of typically Hiberno-Romanesque features, such as rounded doorways and windows. Inside the cathedral you can find three ogham stones which provide more evidence of the earliest phase at Ardmore.  You can also see a number of medieval graveslabs in the cathedral.

The cathedral was extensively modified in the 17th century, when large buttresses were added and the chancel enlarged. A series of early medieval sculpture set within Romanesque arcading can be seen on the western gable end of the cathedral, which is a very unusual feature. The style of artwork and the Romanesque arcading certainly suggest it is from the time of the bishopric around the 12th to 13th centuries, but it may have been moved to its present location during the works in the early 17th century. Though Professor Tadhg O’Keeffe suggests the sculpture may have been influenced by French Romanesque architecture. The chancel of the cathedral continued in use as a Protestant church until 1838, when the present Church of Ireland was constructed nearby.

Inside the cathedral you can find three ogham stones which provide more evidence of the earliest phase at Ardmore. An inscription on one of the ogham stones has been translated as:‘the stone of Lugaid, grandson of Nia-Segmon’. According to Dr. Nora White of the Ogham in 3D project,  Nia Segamon is listed in the historical sources as a prehistoric king of Cashel and that his ‘supposed grandson, Lugaid Luaigni, is also listed as a prehistoric king of Munster and Ireland’. It may be that this inscription commemorates this important king. The fact that MUCOI NETA-SEGAMONAS ‘descendant of Nad-Segamon’ is also found on other ogham stones nearby may suggest that this was a dynasty which controlled the area of Waterford in the 5th century. For more on ogham stones check out this fascinating episode of Amplify Archaeology.