BEST OF THE VILLAGE ONLY A STONE'S THROW AWAY.

Byline: Mike Comeaux Staff Writer

CASHEL, Ireland - The streets are narrow, the distances are short, and the people are grand in this little Irish village, so after you've seen the Rock of Cashel, park your car and set out on foot to enjoy these memory-making locations:

Bru Boru Heritage Center: This modern cultural and educational center at the base of the Rock presents traditional Irish artists performing music, song and dance.

The facilities include a theater, restaurant, craft center, gift shop and information center. The name means ``the palace of Boru'' and refers to Brian Boru, who rose to become high king of Ireland in 1002.

Be sure to see the sculpture of exuberant Irish performing artists, located outside the heritage center and next to the parking lot at the base of the Rock.

Web: www.comhaltas.com

Bolton Library: This library, which is open to the public, features a big collection - and what is believed to be the world's smallest book, a copy of the Lord's Prayer that is only millimeters in size.

It has some 10,000 volumes of ancient books, the oldest of them from 1473, and its manuscript collection stretches back even further, to the 12th century.

In the 1960s, Bolton Library sold some of its volumes to Southern California's Huntington Library in San Marino to raise money for renovations and upgrades to prevent further deterioration of the priceless collection.

Many of the library's oldest books were collected by Theophilus Bolton, Archbishop of Cashel, who died in 1744. They were kept in the archbishop's palace before the current building was constructed in the 19th century on the cathedral grounds.

Admission is 1.91 euros (about $2) for adults, 1.27 euros (about $1.15) for seniors and students and .64 euros (about 50 cents) for children.

It is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sunday 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.; closed Mondays from March through September.

Telephone: [phone].

The Palace: You also may want to visit, or even sleep at, the former archbishop's palace, which was built by Archbishop Bolton in 1730-32.

The red-brick mansion is now used as a hotel, called Cashel Palace Hotel, and is located between the town's main street and the Rock.

A private path leads between the hotel and the Rock. The hotel's restaurant provides an excellent view of the Rock, particularly when floodlights illuminate the monumental landmark at night.

Telephone from the United States: [phone]. In Ireland: (011) 353-62-62707.

Town walls: In medieval times the town had defensive walls, and portions of them still are visible. To get a good look at the ruins, go to the east and south sides of the graveyard at St. John's Church, which is located south of the main street.

St. John's was built as a parish church in the 18th century. Later, it was designated as the cathedral when the one atop the Rock was abandoned.

Older than the church building itself are some religious images dating from the 1200s, located against the old town wall in the graveyard.

Ruins and more: The ruins of a Dominican friary are situated between the Rock and the town's main street. The walls are the only remaining part of this medieval building.

Beyond easy walking distance, but only a very short drive out of town, are the ruins of another local landmark. Its name, Hore Abbey, refers to the color gray, which was the characteristic shade of robes worn here when it was a Cistercian Abbey.

The remaining walls, standing in plain view in the green fields west of the Rock of Cashel, indicate the location of the abbey, which was founded in 1272 and dissolved in 1541.