Clonmacnoise

Gloriously placed overlooking the River Shannon, 7km northeast of Shannonbridge, Clonmacnoise is one of Ireland’s most important ancient monastic cities. The site is enclosed within a walled field and contains numerous early churches, high crosses, round towers and graves in astonishingly good condition (although several gravestones incline to the ground at under a 45-degree angle). The Clonmacnoise Visitor Centre provides an introduction to the site as well as containing several highly important and original stone crosses, along with explanations of their iconography.