Monasteries

Sceilg Michil

Sceilg Michil, also known as Skellig Michael. This shows the monastic cells that were used in ancient Ireland for schooling.

Courtesy of Notes on Irish Architecture 1875.

Sceilg Michil
Courtesy of Notes on Irish Architecture 1875.

Sceilg Michil

Sceilg Michil, also known as Skellig Michael. This shows the monastic cells that were used in ancient Ireland for schooling.

Courtesy of Notes on Irish Architecture 1875.

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From about 500 AD, monasteries were built in Ireland. The first monasteries were usually built in isolated places like Glendalough in Co. Wicklow or on islands such as Skellig Michael off the coast of Co. Kerry.   Some monasteries were also built near the forts of important kings like the monastery of Clonard in Co. Meath. The monks chose these isolated places because it allowed them to pray and work without distraction. In these early monasteries, monks lived in small bedrooms called cells. One of the first monks was St. Enda who set up a monastery in the Aran islands. St. Brigid also founded a number of monasteries.



Irish monasteries became famous for their learning and many students came to study in them from other parts of Europe. Irish monks also spread Christianity across Europe.

Books & Manuscripts

Book of Kells fol. 29r

Book of Kells detail of fol 29r showing interlaced snakes and peacocks in roundels surrounded by spirals.

Board of Trinity College Dublin

Book of Kells fol. 29r
Board of Trinity College Dublin

Book of Kells fol. 29r

Book of Kells detail of fol 29r showing interlaced snakes and peacocks in roundels surrounded by spirals.

Board of Trinity College Dublin

Enlarge image

As well as praying and fasting, some monks spent their lives making beautiful copies of the Bible. The Book of Kells, written in the ninth century, about 800 AD, is a famous example of this. It was named after a town called Kells in Co. Meath where it was once kept. This book can now be seen in Trinity College, Dublin. Another famous book which was written by monks in Ireland is the Book of Durrow.

The monks often put valuable covers on their books and manuscripts. Book covers were often made of metal and decorated with valuables such as jewels. The monks also paid silversmiths to make gold and silver chalices. An example of these chalices is the Ardagh Chalice, which you can see in the National Museum in Dublin. The Ardagh Chalice was made in the eight century AD.