5 (40) Clonmacnoise On the first day of our journey we reached Clonmacnoise, the most important monastery settlement in Ireland. The monastery consists of a wall-surrounded area on the ridge of Esker Riada. During antiquity, ridges and rivers were the main transportation routes. Clonmacnoise constitutes the junction where River Shannon, the interior countryside's connection with the West Coast, cuts through Esker Riada, the route connecting Dublin with Galway. In ancient time Clonmacnoise was an important commercial centre. To this seat of trade and probable hotbed of sin, Saint Ciarán arrived in AD 545 together with eight followers.   4 6 First published: Friday 20th December, 2002 Send a to the author! You may also use this form