St. Laserian's Trail
Old Leighlin – Seanleithghlinn
The picturesque village of Old Leighlin is home to one of Ireland’s gems of late medieval architecture. 1. St. Laserian’s Cathedral, Carlow’s oldest working building, was built on the site of a monastery founded by St. Gobban c. 600. St. Laserian (Lasrain or Mo-Laise) became abbot c. 620 and the settlement grew to eventually accommodate [...]
Leighlinbridge – Leithghlinn an Droichid
The attractive village of 3. Leighlinbridge lies along the banks of the River Barrow with beautiful riverside walks and a tradition of gardening that comes alive each year for the national Tidy Towns Competition and the Carlow Garden Festival.
It was in this peaceful and scenic location that the first Irish Carmelite monastery was established. The [...]
Wells medieval parish church
4. Few medieval parish churches have survived in Carlow and Wells must have been one of the largest. Medieval sources refer to the parish church of Wells in 1262 and the visible remains date to this period although they have been restored in more recent times.
Walking around the ruins one can trace the impressive form of [...]
Dunleckny – Dún Leicne – Fort of the Hill Side
5.
Church of Ireland church
The churchyard at Dunleckny contains the ivy-covered ruins of two churches. The detached three-bay, single cell Church of Ireland was built in the late eighteenth but abandoned in the early nineteenth century when services were transferred to St Mary’s Church, Bagenalstown. The ruin to the right, now almost completely covered with ivy is [...]
Agha – Achadh – Field of the green tillage
Standing firm in the heart of Carlow’s farmland are the remains of 6. Agha Church which has been described as ‘one of the most striking examples of pre-Romanesque architecture in the country’. Agha’s early history is obscure although it is mentioned in the Life of St. Fintan and may have been subordinate to Fintan’s monastery [...]
Agha Church
Agha Church
Standing firm in the heart of Carlow’s farmland are the remains of Agha Church which has been described as ‘one of the most striking examples of pre-Romanesque architecture in the country’. Agha’s early history is obscure although it is mentioned in the Life of St. Fintan and may have been subordinate to Fintan’s monastery at Clonenagh, Co. Laois. [...]
Newtown – An Baile Nua
7. St. Patrick’s Church is an early nineteenth-century church built in the Gothic-revival style. It has been described as a reduced version of Cobden’s Carlow Cathedral and is regarded as one of the finest Gothicbarn-type churches in Ireland.
The granite-built church dates from c. 1830 and has a T plan. The attractive, three-bay exterior has a large [...]
Myshall – Míseal – Low Plain
Myshall lies at the foot of the northern slopes of the Blackstairs Mountains which provide a magnificent backdrop to the rich pasture lands and winding country roads which surround the village. St. Finian, known as the ‘tutor of the Saints of Ireland’ and founder of the celebrated monastery of Clonard, Co. Meath, was born in [...]
Cranavane – Crann an Bháinin
Set in an untouched rural landscape the 12. holy well at Cranavane is closely associated with the early medieval Barragh church, the ruins of which lie some 400 metres to the west. This church was linked with St. Finian who was born nearby in Myshall. In front of the well there is a trough in the [...]
Holy Well at Cranavane
holy well at Craholy well at
Set in an untouched rural landscape the holy well at Cranavane is closelyassociated with the early medieval Barragh church, the ruins of which lie some 400 metresto the west. This church was linked with St. Finian who was born nearby in Myshall. Itwas the custom to dip coffins in the [...]
