The ruins of Ireland's oldest Christian settlement occupy a striking setting on a hill above Ardmore, strewn with gravestones both ancient and new. The most prominent landmark is the 30m-high round tower, one of the best examples in Ireland. But the most remarkable is the roofless shell of Ardmore Cathedral, in particular the Romanesque arcading on the west gable, decorated with worn but still wonderful 12th-century stone carvings of biblical scenes – very unusual in Ireland.
Inside the cathedral are two Ogham stones featuring the earliest form of writing in Ireland, one with the longest such inscription in the country, and a number of medieval grave slabs. The oldest building on the site is the 8th-century Oratory of St Declan, which was restored in 1716; the saint is said to be buried beneath a hollow in its southeast corner.
