Clonmacnoise
Clonmacnoise
4.5
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4.5
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These reviews have been automatically translated from their original language.
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O'Brien G
Athlone, Ireland727 contributions
Aug 2020
Recently we made a return visit to Clonmacnoise as a small family group. We had to book online and we were informed that there were no guided tours or visits to the Visitor Centre. However, the site was fully opened and physical distancing was very straightforward. This is an outdoor experience so dress for the weather. Be warned it can be a windy spot with the winds coming off the River Shannon but it is always beautiful.
Clonmacnoise is one of the most important and most spectacular series of monastic ruins in Ireland. Founded by St. Ciaran in 548AD it went on to become an important site which prospered until the 17th Century. The evidence for the story of Clonmacnoise is contained in the very stones themselves - from the impressive Cross of the Scriptures, which is one of the finest surviving High Crosses in Ireland to the Round Tower and the impressive range of church buildings dating from the 10th to the 17th centuries.
It is well worth going through the modern cemetery to view the beautifully restored Nuns' Chapel, which lies outside the main monastic site.
The very informative leaftlet allows you to appreciate the various features that combine to make this site so important.
Clonmacnoise is a beautiful place to visit at any time. Approaching it by water is magical - and very easy to see why St. Ciaran selected this wonderful 'Quiet watered land' as a location for his monastery.
The shop sells refreshments and a nice range of souvenirs etc.
If you find this review interesting / useful I would appreciate your helpful vote. Thank you.
Clonmacnoise is one of the most important and most spectacular series of monastic ruins in Ireland. Founded by St. Ciaran in 548AD it went on to become an important site which prospered until the 17th Century. The evidence for the story of Clonmacnoise is contained in the very stones themselves - from the impressive Cross of the Scriptures, which is one of the finest surviving High Crosses in Ireland to the Round Tower and the impressive range of church buildings dating from the 10th to the 17th centuries.
It is well worth going through the modern cemetery to view the beautifully restored Nuns' Chapel, which lies outside the main monastic site.
The very informative leaftlet allows you to appreciate the various features that combine to make this site so important.
Clonmacnoise is a beautiful place to visit at any time. Approaching it by water is magical - and very easy to see why St. Ciaran selected this wonderful 'Quiet watered land' as a location for his monastery.
The shop sells refreshments and a nice range of souvenirs etc.
If you find this review interesting / useful I would appreciate your helpful vote. Thank you.
Written 8 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dagmar P
Duisburg, Germany59 contributions
July 2024 • Couples
Repeat offenders: 15 or 20 years ago we were the first Once here, back then traveling on the Shannon with a cabin cruiser and made a stopover at the local dock. Meanwhile, we prefer to stay in holiday homes and were here by car. Clonmacnoise is a bit off the beaten track, but beautiful, on the Shannon. The original tomb/monastery complex has of course not changed since then (except that a few tombstones may have tipped over and weathered a little more). The visitor centre is newer, modern and welcoming. Staff at reception very friendly. Admission cost € 8.00 per person. With your own smartphone you can design your guide/information if you do not want to follow a guide. We were able to join a tour that had just started. The guide was remarkable. Good to understand, even on the grounds outside and in easy-to-understand English, he brought us close to the history of the place in a good mood and partly with funny anecdotes. The most valuable crosses are presented in the interior of the visitor centre, where you can also watch a film in various languages. We missed this one as we arrived relatively late in the afternoon.
Clonmacnoise is of course most beautiful in good weather and we actually had that this year. The view over the plain with the river flowing through the meadows in several curves at this place is beautiful and directly picturesque in sunshine. However, we remembered that the docking maneuver was a bit adventurous at the time, as the river plain here is windy and our tall cabin cruiser was very wind-susceptible. Also this year a strong but warm breeze blew.
Children are welcome and can walk outside among the graves and ruins without anyone complaining. This also applies to dogs.
The place exuded a very special calm on the day. Maybe that was because we were relatively late and only a few visitors were there at the same time as us.
We can recommend a visit in good weather. In bad weather, the wind whistles around your ears and when it rains you are relatively exposed to the rain.
Parking is available, visitors toilets also (on the outside, behind the cash register). In front of the visitor center, right at the parking lot, there is a kiosk with the usual souvenirs, coffee sales and other small things (ice cream, sweets etc).
Clonmacnoise is of course most beautiful in good weather and we actually had that this year. The view over the plain with the river flowing through the meadows in several curves at this place is beautiful and directly picturesque in sunshine. However, we remembered that the docking maneuver was a bit adventurous at the time, as the river plain here is windy and our tall cabin cruiser was very wind-susceptible. Also this year a strong but warm breeze blew.
Children are welcome and can walk outside among the graves and ruins without anyone complaining. This also applies to dogs.
The place exuded a very special calm on the day. Maybe that was because we were relatively late and only a few visitors were there at the same time as us.
We can recommend a visit in good weather. In bad weather, the wind whistles around your ears and when it rains you are relatively exposed to the rain.
Parking is available, visitors toilets also (on the outside, behind the cash register). In front of the visitor center, right at the parking lot, there is a kiosk with the usual souvenirs, coffee sales and other small things (ice cream, sweets etc).
Automatically translated
Written 22 July 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jbienst
Maryland162 contributions
June 2023 • Couples
We needed something to break up the drive from Galway to Dublin and our B&B host suggested this site. What a great choice. What such impressive artifacts are doing at a little rural museum is unclear. I am amazed that the three large Celtic crosses that are more than 1000 years old aren’t in the National Museum of Ireland - Archeology. The ruined churches and towers are also impressive. Would also recommend the short 500 meter walk through the old and then the modern graveyard out to the lane where after a short walk you arrive at the ruins of another church.
Written 3 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
301lisa33
Coventry, UK2,012 contributions
June 2022
This is an ancient monastic site, with several building relics, in a gorgeous location just above the river Shannon. (We arrived by cruiser on the river: moorings are available.) There is little interpretation outside the 'museum', so try to join a guide or watch their video. Interesting. The pope visited whn in Ireland
Written 3 August 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jb
Ballincollig, Ireland6 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
Visited and toured the site with Aidan as our guide. His knowledge and presentation of the information was excellent. He is highly entertaining as he provided the information relating to the various buildings and artefacts.
Highly recommend a visit
Highly recommend a visit
Written 4 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sue J
Bath, UK88 contributions
June 2022
Visited here on our way back to Dublin from Galway and it was well worth the detour. It's a beautiful and peaceful site that feels very special and with an interesting history which is well documented in the small museum and on the video. So glad we went here
Written 7 June 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katherine C
2 contributions
June 2023 • Friends
I visited with friends from overseas and the visit started off so well with the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff. The little museum is excellent and the audiovisual film was so good to see first before we went on our tour outside. The tour guide was excellent, it was such a successful trip, I would recommend it to anyone.
Written 22 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
WestSydney
Bundanoon, Australia540 contributions
May 2023 • Couples
We visited on a sunny perfect weather day. We arrived after a 90minute boat ride on Viking Cruises from Athlone. The site is beautifully preserved and presented. You can walk around the site looking at the various buildings and graves. It has an interesting museum and a 20minute film on the site (very interesting and recommended), on the day we went the cafe was not opened and there really isn’t anywhere else to buy food except for a souvenir shop. The site would be limited for those with accessibility issues though the museum and some outdoor areas would be accessible. Clean toilets. As part of the Viking cruise they provide a bus back to Athlone.
Written 12 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Astrid L
184 contributions
Apr 2022
Amazing site, with so much history. The visitor's center was great, even though the movie was a bit on the boring side, it was informative. (would be nice to see it updated - it was very obviously made in the late 80's/early 90's). Walking around the site, you could feel the history everywhere. Absolutely worth the visit. The original Celtic high crosses are fantastic.
Written 25 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janette M
Limerick, Ireland508 contributions
July 2020 • Couples
On our visit restrictions have been lifted BUT social distancing meant we couldn't visit the visitors centre or had a guide. So we literally saw the historical buildings. I had wanted to do this since childhood as clonmacnoise was in all of the history books going to school. I was delighted to see it's location and preservation!! Will definitely return in better times!!
Written 22 July 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We will be traveling from Galway to Dublin on the last day of our journey. Is it feasible to make this stop, enjoy it and have time for a tour?
Written 24 July 2019
Personally, I don't like hurrying and would be reluctant to do what you propose... we spent about three hours at Clonmacnoise and then went for a late lunch in a nearby town. But sure it's possible to stop off on your journey from Galway to Dublin. Enjoy!
Written 5 August 2019
Is it worth to go in?Can we walk is garden without to pay ticket?I am not interesting in movie about celtas,but i would like to make a walk in garden(ancient cemetery?).
Written 27 May 2019
We are interested in going in September, but are in a time crunch to get to another location as well. Can you tour the grounds prior to 10am? And then visit the museum at 10? Are you required to take the tour?
Thank you!
Written 19 July 2018
You don’t need to take the tour! As per the other comment the site does not open until 10am so really depends on how long you have til your next destination. Even an hour at Clonmacnoise is worth the visit
Written 19 July 2018
HI
I have been to Ireland 4 times and the past two times I wanted to see the ruins at Clonmacnoise but couldn't figure out how to do that without a car. Can you enlighten me? Also do you know of any walking trails that go to the site? Thank you, Heather
Written 3 July 2016
Heather, We had a car. Sans that, I would think there would be local coach tours?
Written 5 August 2016
Can anyone recommend a boat trip to get to Clonmacnoise via the Shannon? Or a bus trip from Athlone? Or have other suggestions as to how to get there? Thanks.
Written 23 April 2016
Hi, look up Viking Tours Athlone. A very lovely and informative way to visit Clonmacnois. Hope this helps?
Written 6 July 2016
My great-great-grandfather, Thomas J. Keena, was born in Creevagh (Co Offaly) in 1840. We are planning our trip to Ireland in Sept and were hoping to find traces of our Keena ancestry; your review gave me chills! Will definitely put this on our "Must Do" list. Do you have any other "Keena" suggestions?
Written 9 May 2015
briandockery
Ireland
hi,
Did anyone do the virtual reality experience of clonmacnoise while there? I am planning to go if its worth it
thanks
Written 19 April 2015
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