f the site from the
late-12th century. Athlone became the main trading town for the midlands of
Ireland, the most popular route for crossing the Shannon, as well as the
best-defended settlement in the region. People migrated north from Clonmacnoise
to Athlone, and with the fall in population went much of the support that the
site needed to survive, and former allies began to recognise the decline in the
site's influence. The influx of continental religious orders such as the Franciscans, Augustinians, Benedictines, Cluniacs,
etc. around the same time fed into this decline as numerous additional
competitor sites began to crop up. Ireland's move from a monastic framework to
diocesan in the twelfth century similarly dis improved the site's religious
standing, as it was designated the seat of a small and impoverished diocese.
It
was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1979. The site can be visited for
a fee, via an O.P.W.-managed interpretative centre. The site is accessible from the River Shannon, with
trips from Shannonbridge and Athlone regular features
during the summer season. Some private operators also offer bus connections
from Athlone, but the most common way to visit the site by road, if a visitor
does not have their own car, is by taxi from Athlone (€40-50 ret.)
