Christian Heritage & Sacred Places

Sample 5 Day Itinerary for Ireland’s Ancient East

Uncover Ireland’s great medieval, spiritual and often mystic past in this itinerary. Step into a Golden Age for Ireland, the Land of Saints and Scholars, when it was considered a rival to Rome’s influence on the development of Christianity. Explore our finest monastic sites including Cashel, Clonmacnoise and Glendalough where the stories of the Saints who built them are brought to life for you. Be inspired by the sites where Ireland’s famous illuminated manuscripts and jewelled chalices were created. Treasures that miraculously survived the turbulent centuries that followed.

Day 1

Morning Arrive in Dublin Airport and meet your local guide and driver and depart for some of the best examples of Medieval and early Christian Ireland today in Counties Louth, Meath & Westmeath.

Depart for Tullyallen, Co Louth (journey time 35mins)Old Mellifont Abbey

Old Mellifont Abbey in County Louth was the first Cistercian monastery in Ireland, founded in 1142 by St Malachy of Armagh. The site is located just a 10 minute drive from Drogheda and features an unusual octagonal lavabo in which the monks washed their hands, dating from circa 1200. 

The Old Mellifont Abbey Visitor Centre houses an interesting exhibition on the work of masons in the Middle Ages, with fine examples of their craft on display, alongside remnants of the abbey’s gate and its church.