One Photo; One Story: Durrow Abbey

One Photo;One Story: Durrow Abbey.

This road looks like it will never end. At the end sits an iron gate that protects the grounds of Durrow Abbey; it’s hidden on the N52 between Kilbeggan and Tullamore in County Offaly in Ireland.

Kelly and I walked this lane the morning after we got engaged for the second time in my grandmothers County of Tipperary.

I often look at this photo and think about how far we have come over the years after that day. Our first engagement was a disaster, and we were in Ireland to begin again.

This road was the first one we walked after deciding to recommit our lives together. We were determined to get it right.

At the end of this lane sits an old Abbey. It was founded in the 6th Century. Amongst the bramble and old growth are tombs of monks and nobleman of old. At the entrance stands the Cross Of Durrow, A mighty symbol of the ancient teachings of the biblical story.

It is also said that in 1054. The monks recorded a sighting of a massive star that appeared overnight. It was the only record of the supernova of that same year.

Ten years earlier, Kelly gave me a chain holding the Cross Of Durrow. On that day I made a goal to find the original cross.

The morning after our second engagement…We walked this lane, on the site where they witnessed the supernova, tracing the steps of St. Columba and Hugh de Lacy, Lord Of Meath, We found it.