CASHEL

Irish Caiseal town and urban district, County Tipperary, Ireland. It is dominated by the Rock of Cashel (358 feet ), a limestone outcrop on the summit of which is a group of ruins that include remains of the town's defenses, St. Patrick's Cathedral (adjoined by a round tower and Cormac's Chapel), the bishop's castle, and an ancient cross. The rock was the stronghold of the kings of Munster from the 4th century. St. Patrick visited Cashel in about 450, baptized King Aenghus, and made Cashel into a bishopric. In 1101 the rock was granted to the church by King Murtagh O'Brien. Cormac's Chapel was built between 1127 and 1134, and the cathedral was founded in 1169 and then replaced by the present building in the 13th century. Cashel also has a Georgian cathedral (1784), the seat of the Protestant bishop. Pop. (1986) 2,458.