Is it worth the time and money

I can't help you with your question, but I'm bumping this up so people will see it.

Have a great trip!

"Is it worth it?" is the most difficult question that is asked on this Forum since everyone has their own unique expectations, tastes and desires. IMO if you see Glendalough and the ruins there, you get a good idea of what church ruins look like. The structures at the Rock of Cashel are a step up from that ( some have been getting some restoration). I don't understand how many days you have, but if you are pressed for time and there is some OTHER type of site you'd like to take in ( a distillery or an iron age fort or an archeological dig, etc) perhaps you should ask yourself what you would value more - another church ruin or that distillery you are interested in. I will offer that IMO seeing the Hill of Tara is a real nonevent. It is just a typical small Irish hill covered with grass with a very small nondescript chapel on the slope. I was very underwhelmed. However I'm sure some will disagree with me due to factors I might not appreciate as much as they do. Ireland is quite charming and you'll likely get something out of whatever you choose to do. Enjoy.

I really enjoyed visiting the Rock of Cashel. It's a dramatic site on a hill overlooking the area and is well worth a visit. There is a guided walking tour you can join that is very informative. I did not visit Hore Abbey so I can't comment on that. The bus from Cork to Cashel is easy, and the bus stop is a short walk from the Rock of Cashel. If you are history buffs you will definitely enjoy it and it will be different from the other places you will have seen already. I also did a guided tour to Newgrange and Hill of Tara from Dublin and enjoyed every minute of it. The Hill of Tara is just a hill, but if you have a good guide on the tour you will get a great history lesson there. If I was not on a tour with a guide I probably would have skipped Tara. I did not stay in Cork, but stayed in Kinsale, and though the town is small and doesn't take long to see there are the ruins of James Fort on one side of the harbour, and Charles Fort on the other side. You can walk along the harbour to both, but I think the walk to Charles Fort was half an hour to 45 minutes so keep that in mind if you are thinking of doing it. There was a great walking tour there, also, and I spent a couple of hours there.

"Is it worth it" is a question that can only be answered by the person asking it. Nobody else really knows your tastes, your budget, your preferences, you likes and dislikes, or your plans. Only you can say whether anything is "worth it" (and to make it worse, often you can only answer that question after you've been somewhere).

Was it "worth it" for me to climb up that church tower? Was it "worth it" for me to drive all that way and slog up a mountain just to see butterflies? Was it "worth it" for me to spend a day driving in the driving rain to explore some obscure corner of a little country that looked intriguing on a map? Was it "worth it" for me to take two ferries to explore an island I knew nothing about and whose name I still can't pronounce? Will it be it "worth it" for me to spend all that money to go to the other side of the world just to....? (yes, hell yeah, maybe, absolutely, and I'll tell you next year after I get back).

IMHO travel always involves making some guesses, taking some chances, and rolling the dice. Sometimes you do something and it turns out OK but kinda "meh", other times you do something and you have an experience or see something that delights you completely and is an unexpected highlight of your trip. For me at least, more often that not, the odd things I've opted to see or do have been the best parts of my travels. Beats sitting in your hotel room and surfing Facebook.

We’ve been to Glendalough, Hore Abbey and the Rock of Cashel. IMO, as a Monastic site, Glendalough is overrated….but, unless you tour the visitor’s center, it’s free (there is a fee for the car park at the upper lake). The Rock of Cashel is far more interesting (again, my opinion), and you have the added bonus of Hore Abbey (which is free) being about a 5 minute drive away – not to mention the quaint town of Cashel. Despite what some folks say, visiting Abbeys, Friaries and Priories is not a “once you’ve seen one you’ve seen ‘em all” thing. Each one is different, with different decoration, and each one is in a different state of decay or preservation. And of course each one has a different history. We’ve been to about a dozen, and each one has been unique. Bottom line, I’d opt for the ROC and Hore Abbey….worth the effort, time and money.

Also, since you and your husband are both into history, and he’s into politics, make sure to visit the Old Church Cemetery in Cobh…it’s where the mass graves of the LUSITANIA victims are located.

Thanks all of you for taking the time to answer my question. I am leaning to taking in ROC after reading what you have said. I was just afraid it would be too much like Glendalough but I am getting the sense that its location and degree of preservation make it worth the trip. Someone said the bus ride is easy. We are planing on seeing the Charles Fort the day we visit Kinsale and maybe taking the harbor cruise. We are also planing on seeing the Queenstown area and maybe the Luis Glucksman Gallery in Cork. I think that there will be plenty to see and do.