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48 LEINSTER
All that great congeries of ruins dating from pre-
Norman times speaks of a very large community. They
are typical. There is the round tower, cloigtheach, a
belfry, place of retreat into which the pious monks
used to retire, drawing up the ladder after them; there
is the big church with high-pitched roof of stone, and
its galaxy of lesser chapels, just as in Ciaran's city
at Clonmacnoise. About these doubtless were num-
berless huts of wattle and clay, dwellings of the clergy
and the students. For here was the real metropolitan
see of Irish Leinster. Dublin was a Danish foundation,
and for centuries the primacy was disputed between
them, till the dispute was ended by calling the pro-
vincial see the Archbishopric of Dublin and Glendalough
— joint dioceses with separate organization to
this day.
For archaeological and historic interest no place in
Wicklow can approach this "glen of the two lakes",
Gleann Da Loch. But for romance, I at least should
put Glen Malure far before it; and, for beauty, would
infinitely prefer the lovely cup of Lough Tay or Luggi-
law, where it nestles under the western slopes of Douse.
This, and Lough Dan as well, you can see by a slight
detour on your way to Dublin; and if you have come
by Bray, it is best to take the military road back to
Dublin, which brings you through Sallygap by the
headwaters of the Lififey, and past the other beautiful