The Waterford Ardmore Cathedral is a superb Irish cathedral in ruins, located in Ardmore, County Waterford. Magnificent, it is considered to be Ireland’s oldest cathedral! The building is said to have been the first Christian settlement in the country’s history!
The Cathedral (also known as St. Declan’s Cathedral, Ardmore) is said to have been founded by St. Declan, an Irishman wishing to evangelize the Waterford area around 350-450, well before the arrival of St. Patrick. To this end, the saint decided to build a monastery _ the first in Ireland! _ to facilitate conversions and promote the worship of his converts.
The site then became an important religious center of the time, regularly evolving architecturally. As a result, the center has gradually acquired :
Added to this was a small cemetery, with scattered gravestones, sometimes crumbled by time.
The cathedral’s sumptuous bas-reliefs depict an ancient harp and scenes depicting Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. A scene from the Judgment of Solomon also appears on the same wall.
There are also 2 carved stones in the cathedral. These bear traces of oghamic writing.
The cathedral is magnificent, albeit slightly destabilized by the ground over the centuries. An exceptional place, suspended in time!
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