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Saint Mullins —County Carlow

The picturesque village of St. Mullins in South Carlow is a scenic and charming Barrow-side village with an impressive ecclesiastical history. Nestling between the Blackstairs Mountains on one side and Brandon Hill on the other, the locality acquired its name from St. Moling, a 7th century cleric, prince, poet, artist and artisan who built a monastery here with the help of 'Gobban Saor', the legendary Irish builder. In the 8th century manuscript, known as 'The Book of Mulling', there is a plan of the monastery, the earliest known plan of an Irish monastery which shows four crosses inside and eight crosses outside the circular monastic wall. It is said that St. Moling dug a mile-long watercourse with his own hands to power his mill - a task that took seven years! He became Bishop of Ferns, died in 697 and is buried at St. Mullin's.