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Kells
The heritage town of Kells contains
many fine examples of early Christian
architecture
Kells derives from the Irish Ceanannas Mór, meaning ‘great residence’.
Long before the coming of Christianity, Kells was a royal residence
associated with the legendary Conn Céadchatach (Conn of the Hundred
Battles) and Cormac mac Airt.
In 550 St. Columba, also known as
St. Colmcille, established a religious
settlement at Kells. In 563 he went into
self-imposed exile on the isle of Iona, off
the west coast of Scotland and founded
another settlement. The island was raided
by Viking fleets in 795, 802 and again
in 804 when sixty-eight people were
killed. Shortly after, the community of
St. Columba’s monastery on Iona were
granted lands at Kells as a safe haven
from invaders.
Generally, monastic settlements were
surrounded by a circular boundary wall
called a vallum, which acted as a frontier
between the holy world within and
the secular world outside. They often
contained a church, graveyard, high
crosses, monk’s cells and from the late
10th century round towers also became
a feature.
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The first church at Kells was completed by
814 and in 878 the relics of St. Columba
were relocated from Iona, which was
now prospering. However, Kells itself was
raided by the Vikings in 919, 950 and
969, and many times throughout the
11th century, this time by the Irish. The
most famous treasure created by the
community of St. Columba is the Book of
Kells, a highly ornate version of the four
gospels in Latin. It was written around the
year 800, though it remains unclear
whether it was written in whole or part
at Kells.
Although Kells became an important
Anglo-Norman walled settlement, it is
its monastic heritage that best survives.
Kells’ round tower, though roofless, stands
at a height of 25m. In 1076 Murchadh
Mac Flainn, who was fighting for the High
Kingship of Ireland, was murdered in the