Oh Beehive...

Aside from all of the castles, Ireland has almost as many churches.  Of course some of the great examples are in ruins now, but even the ruins are beautiful. 

In County Kerry, we went into the ruins of Kilmalkedar Monastery, within eyeshot of the home of St. Brendan the Voyager (who is a pretty cool guy. I suggest reading John Joseph O'Meara's short book "The Voyage of Saint Brendan" if you're in the mood for a historical fiction version of a dude who hops in a canoe with some buddies, and sails in search of the Garden of Eden.  Rumor has it he may have landed in Florida? Sheesh.)  Anyway, this monastery dates back to the 7th century.  Pretty amazing that any of it is still standing.

St. Brendan's home, and the cemetery in front of the monastery

One of the more interesting "churches" was the Gallarus Oratory in County Kerry.  Projected to be between 1,000 - 1,200 years old, this stacked stone beehive resembles either the bottom of an overturned ship. 

 More a chapel than a church, local legend says that if you exit via the window, your soul will be cleaned.  Note that the window is barely larger than our tourguide's head.  Alas, my soul is sullied.