County Offaly featuring Clonmacnoise

Perched on the banks of the broad River Shannon, the sixth-century monastic site of Clonmacnoise is home to three high crosses, a cathedral, seven churches, and two round towers. This great monastery was founded in 548–9 by St. Ciarán Mac a tSaor (“son of the carpenter”), who studied under St. Finian at the famous Clonard Abbey. The strategic location at a crossroads between the major east–west land route through the bogs of central Ireland and the waterway of the Shannon helped it to become a major centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship, and trade by the 9th century.