annaghdown churches and priory

The first monastery was founded by St, Brendan, who founded a convent for his sister here. Near the southern end of the graveyard is the Cathedral - a 15th century building incorporating a very fine window and a doorway of the late 12th century. Other fragments of the same date may be seen inside the church.

They may all have been removed here either from the Priory (see below) or may come from an earlier church on the site of the Cathedral. To the north of the Cathedral are the foundations of an early church which is the oldest on the site, and may be of 11th or 12th century date; it was added to at a later period. Further north again are the remains of a medieval parish church. One hundred yards west of the Cathedral, and reached by a lane to the south of it, is the Priory.

This was originally built shortly after 1195 when the monastery was granted to the Arroasian nuns. There is still some good Romanesque carving in the church, including a north window in the chancel.