Sacred places in Ireland: temples, churches, shrines and mosques

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Catholicism · hạt Wicklow · thế kỷ 6GlendaloughGleann Dá Locha, Valley of the Two Lakes, Glendalough Monastic Site, Monastery of St. Kevin at Glendalough

An early Christian monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin in the late 6th century in a glacial valley of two lakes in the Wicklow Mountains, once one of medieval Ireland's principal pilgrimage centers. Surviving monuments include an approximately 30-meter round tower, a ruined cathedral, the stone-roofed St. Kevin's Church, and stone crosses.

National Monument of Ireland (in state care since 1875), within Wicklow Mountains National ParkGlendalough, Bray, Co. Wicklow, A98 HC80

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Photo: Schcambo at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Protestantism · Dublin (County Dublin) · Khởi nguyên từ nhà thờ gỗ thế kỷ 5 bên giếng rửa tội của Thánh Patrick; nâng lên hàng nhà thờ hiệp sĩ đoàn năm 1191 thời Tổng giám mục John Comyn và bậc nhà thờ chính tòa năm 1213 thời Tổng giám mục Henry de Loundres; đại thánh đường Gothic Anh thời kỳ đầu hiện nay xây dựng từ năm 1220 tới 1260, dựng tháp Minot năm 1370, thêm chóp đá cao 43 mét năm 1749 và đại trùng tu năm 1860 tới 1865 nhờ sự bảo trợ của Benjamin Lee GuinnessSt. Patrick's Cathedral, DublinArd-Eaglais Naomh Padraig, The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick Dublin

The National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland and the largest and tallest church in Ireland, erected in Early English Gothic style between 1220 and 1260 beside the ancient sacred well where Saint Patrick baptized fifth-century converts by the River Poddle, celebrated for its 1432 Choir School, the 1492 Door of Reconciliation, and the legacy and tomb of its most famous Dean, writer Jonathan Swift (served 1713 to 1745).

National Cathedral of the Church of Ireland (Anglican Communion) and Largest Protected Medieval Ecclesiastical Monument in the Republic of IrelandSt Patrick's Close, Dublin 8, D08 H6X3, Republic of Ireland

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Photo: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Catholicism · County Mayo (Province of Connacht) · Nhà thờ giáo xứ Thánh Gioan Tẩy Giả xây năm 1828; biến cố Đức Mẹ, Thánh Giuse, Thánh Gioan và Chiên Thiên Chúa hiện ra trong thinh lặng trước 15 nhân chứng vào tối ngày 21 tháng 8 năm 1879; xây dựng Vương cung thánh đường Đức Mẹ Nữ Vương Ireland năm 1973 tới 1976 dưới thời Đức ông James Horan; đón Giáo hoàng Gioan Phaolô II năm 1979 và Giáo hoàng Phanxicô năm 2018Knock ShrineCnoc Mhuire, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock, International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine of Knock

Ireland's International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine in County Mayo, founded on the rainy evening of August 21, 1879 when fifteen villagers witnessed a silent two-hour luminous apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint John the Evangelist, and the Lamb of God upon an altar at the south gable of the parish church, elevated to a Papal Minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1979 and welcoming 1.5 million pilgrims annually.

International Eucharistic and Marian Shrine (proclaimed by Pope Francis on March 19, 2021), Papal Minor Basilica (proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in 1979), and National Marian Shrine of IrelandMain Street, Knock (Cnoc Mhuire), Claremorris, County Mayo, F12 Y226, Republic of Ireland

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Photo: FredSeiller, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Catholicism · County Kerry (Province of Munster) · Khởi lập vào khoảng thế kỷ thứ 6 tới thế kỷ thứ 8 Công nguyên theo truyền thống đan tu Kitô giáo Celtic khổ hạnh; chịu các cuộc tấn công của người Viking năm 824; mở rộng nhà thờ Thánh Michael thế kỷ 10 tới 11; các đan sĩ chuyển vào đất liền tại Ballinskelligs vào cuối thế kỷ 12 hoặc đầu thế kỷ 13 nhưng hòn đảo tiếp tục là điểm hành hương sám hối cho tới thế kỷ 19Sceilg Mhichil (Skellig Michael)Sceilg Mhichil, Great Skellig, Early Medieval Monastic Settlement of Skellig Michael

One of the world's most extraordinary early medieval monastic settlements (UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1996), perched between 180 and 218 meters above the surging Atlantic Ocean on a twin-peaked sandstone crag 11.6 kilometers off the coast of County Kerry, where sixth-to-eighth-century Celtic monks carved over 600 stone steps and built six dry-stone beehive cells (clochain) and two boat-shaped oratories in pursuit of ascetic White Martyrdom.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed in 1996, Ref. 757, Criteria iii and iv) and National Monument of the Republic of IrelandSkellig Islands (11.6 km west of Portmagee and the Iveragh Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean), County Kerry, Republic of Ireland

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Photo: Ridiculopathy, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Catholicism · County Tipperary (Province of Munster) · Kinh đô của các Quốc vương xứ Munster từ thế kỷ thứ 4 tới năm 1101; nơi Thánh Patrick rửa tội cho Vua Aengus khoảng năm 450 và Brian Boru đăng cơ năm 977; năm 1101 Quốc vương Muirchertach Ua Briain hiến tặng trọn đồi đá cho Giáo hội; xây Tháp Tròn khoảng năm 1101, Nhà nguyện Cormac phong cách Romanesque năm 1127 tới 1134, Nhà thờ chính tòa Gothic năm 1235 tới 1270 và Sảnh Ca đoàn thế kỷ 15Rock of CashelCarraig Phadraig, Cashel of the Kings, St. Patrick's Rock, Royal and Ecclesiastical Acropolis of Munster

Ireland's iconic royal and ecclesiastical acropolis crowning a 60-meter limestone outcrop above the Golden Vale of County Tipperary, serving as the seat of the Kings of Munster from the fourth century and site of King Aengus's baptism by Saint Patrick around 450 CE before High King Muirchertach Ua Briain gifted the fortress to the Church in 1101, preserving the 28-meter Round Tower, the 1134 Hiberno-Romanesque Cormac's Chapel, the thirteenth-century Gothic Cathedral, and the twelfth-century Cross of Saint Patrick.

Premier National Monument of the Republic of Ireland (National Monument No. 128) and Property on Ireland's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List (The Royal Sites of Ireland)Moor Lane, Cashel, County Tipperary, E25 KX44, Republic of Ireland

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Photo: Millars, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

IIHelp Us Build This

This library is open and free, and it records its own progress in public. Three things you can help with today:

Name a place we missedA founding temple, a church, a mosque, a shrine the table above does not have. Send the name, the province, and one line on why it belongs.
Send a photograph with an open licenceNothing is published without both the photographer and the licence. Your own photograph with your permission, or an openly licensed one, are both welcome.
Report an errorA wrong date, a wrong original name, a wrong lineage, a wrong address. A library that is wrong once is not trusted again, so corrections are very welcome.

Write to thayungkhiem@gmail.com

IIILog

24/10/2026Completed three major initiatives on the same day: (1) Verified primary international sources and published the remaining 199 full English editions across 192 countries and territories, officially completing Stage D with 100% bilingual Vietnamese and English coverage across the entire library. (2) Visually verified and published 35 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for 22 sites in Vietnam and 13 international sanctuaries. (3) Authored 100 new bilingual sacred place monographs with real photographs for Stage C across 25 countries and territories (South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Canada and Mexico), expanding each from 1 to 5 places and bringing the library to 761 sacred places.
25/09/2026Launched the complete Scriptures and Mantras section for all 19 faiths, presenting one daily liturgical text per tradition in four columns (original script, transliteration, Vietnamese and English) with a read-along player and human recordings for 7 texts. On the same day, visually verified and published 29 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for the first Stage A batch across 29 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
24/09/2026In the Main Hall, completed 3D ritual offerings for all 19 faiths with authentic gestures, offerings and proportions, alongside the milestone counter toward one billion heartfelt offerings. In the Places section, completed articles and openly licensed photographs for 30 second-batch sites across the 10 priority countries (bringing each to 5 places, including the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam as the library's first Jewish site) and authored the first 30 Stage A articles across 30 additional countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas (including Bulguksa, the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Angkor Wat, Borobudur, Masjid al-Haram, St Peter's Basilica and Guadalupe).

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?Quick Questions

Why are there no opening hours or ticket prices

Because they change constantly. A library that is wrong once about a practical detail loses its standing on everything else. Check with the place itself before you travel.

Where do the images come from

From Wikimedia Commons under open licences, each credited to its photographer, or photographed by UK MASTER ACADEMY. No image is published without both its author and its licence.

How were these places chosen

Four tests: it is officially listed as a heritage site, it belongs to a tradition this library covers, its site and orientation can be read in feng shui terms, and an openly licensed photograph exists.

Why is my country still grey

The library opens one country at a time, beginning with the countries that have the most readers, and within each country with its most significant places. A grey country is simply one whose turn has not come. Suggestions are welcome through the page of Master Ưng Khiêm.

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