St Kevin's Kitchen

St Kevin's Kitchen is one of the most photographed structures in Glendalough — a small, near-intact Romanesque church with a distinctive miniature round tower growing from its roof at the west end. The building sits within the main monastic enclosure and dates from the 12th century, though it incorporates elements from earlier structures on the site.

The interior is small and simple; what's remarkable is how intact the structure is. The stone barrel vault has survived largely undamaged, giving you a genuine sense of what the interior space of an early medieval Irish church felt like.

things to do sight
A story
The building is not a kitchen at all — the name comes from the small round belfry that protrudes from the roof, which local people in later centuries thought resembled a chimney. The actual church is thought to date from the 12th century and was used as a place of worship long after the main monastery declined. The misidentification stuck and has been the building's name ever since.