To get to Derrynane Abbey, you have to trek through forest, across windy beaches, and amongst beautiful iconic Irish views. And, you better hope you timed your visit right because the Abbey and cemetery are only accessible when the tide is out. For most of the day, it stands inaccessible and protected by the ocean.
But the force that protects the Abbey also destroys it. It stands in ruins amongst a graveyard that mixes old and modern graves. Some family tombs really show the damage left by the ocean winds and expose their bones. In the cemetery lay the remains of Mary O’Connell, wife of Daniel O’Connell.
The Abbey is thought to have been founded by Finan of Lindisfarne (St. Finnan) in the 6th Century; Finan is an Irish monk who became the Bishop of Lindisfarne, an island off the northeast coast of England.
