To the west of the site, on the ridge near the car park, is a motte with the oddly shaped ruins of a 13th-century castle – also known as Clonmacnoise Castle – built by John de Grey, bishop of Norwich, to watch over the Shannon.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Slieve Bloom Mountains Nature Reserve
24.54 MILES
A 2300-hectare nature reserve with a mountain range in the middle, full of walking and biking trails. A visit to Slieve Bloom is the perfect excuse to…
0.18 MILES
Gloriously placed overlooking the River Shannon, 7km northeast of Shannonbridge, Clonmacnoise is one of Ireland’s most important ancient monastic cities…
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20.72 MILES
Don't miss the extraordinary Corlea Trackway, an Iron Age bog road built in 148 BC. An 18m stretch of the pavement-like oak track has been preserved in a…
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16.04 MILES
It's easy to spend half a day exploring the attractions and gardens of Birr Castle demesne. The castle dates from 1620 and is a private home, but during…
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27.65 MILES
Magnificent Belvedere House, 7.5km south of Mullingar, is an unmissable sight. This immense 1740-built hunting and fishing lodge is set in 65 hectares of…
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7.04 MILES
Inside this low, hulking 13th-century riverside castle, modern displays bring to life the tumultuous history of the town and detail life here through the…
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14.98 MILES
Clara Bog is one of the few great expanses of classic bogland in Western Europe to escape being stripped for fuel. Deceptively flat and seemingly lifeless…
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12.93 MILES
Much of County Offaly's once-extensive boglands were stripped of peat for electricity generation during the 20th century. Now Lough Boora, 17km north of…
Nearby The Midlands attractions
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Three connected conical huts, echoing the design of early monastic dwellings, house the visitor centre museum. A 20-minute audiovisual show provides an…
0.13 MILES
Overlooking the River Shannon is the 19.3m-high O'Rourke's Tower. Lightning blasted the top off the tower in 1135, but the remaining structure was used…
3. Replica Cross of the Scriptures (King Flann's Cross)
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See the original inside the Clonmacnoise Visitor Centre.
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This bullaun has a diameter of around 0.3m and is located near the southwestern corner of Temple Doolin. It's an ancient grinding stone supposedly used…
0.14 MILES
The Clonmacnoise Visitor Centre shelters the original South Cross.
0.15 MILES
The original North Cross is inside the Clonmacnoise Visitor Centre.
0.15 MILES
The largest building at Clonmacnoise, the cathedral was originally built in AD 909, but was significantly altered and remodelled over the centuries. Its…
0.15 MILES
These remains of an 11th-century temple are similar to nearby Temple Hurpan.