abbeys ireland

This is a remains of a 14th century Cistercian Abbey which is located on the north side of the River Ilen, 1.5km away from Skibbereen....

St. Mary's Abbey is one of Dublin's best kept secrets. Once the wealthiest Cistercian Abbey in Ireland, today it is unrecognisable. Two rooms remain - the Chapter House and the Slype. The Abbey, founded in 1139, played a large role in the affairs of the state until its dissolution by Henry VIII in 1539. It was the Chapter House that 'Silken' Thomas Fitzgerald started his unsuccessful rebellion in 1534.

Today it contains a fascinating exhibition put together by Duchas The Heritage Ser...

Errew Abbey was founded by the Barretts for the Augustinian Canons in 1413. The church is a long rectangular building; although much of the dressed stonework has fallen, there are some good trefoil windows remaining, as well as a piscina. The ground floor of the domestic buildings is preserved on the eastern wing of the cloister, but otherwise little of these buildings remain. the church, however, antedates the foundation and is of 13th century date. Templenagalliaghdoo: Nearby is a sma...

The Rock of Cashel, rising out of the surrounding plain, is the most dramatic of all Irish monuments. It first appears as a fortification of the Eoghanachta kings of Munster in the 4th century. It was allegedly visited by St. Patrick who converted Aenghus, the king of the time; by mistake, St. Patrick stuck his crosier through the king's foot during the baptism, and the king bore it with fortitude thinking that it was part of the ceremony. St. Patrick made Cashel into a bishopric; its best-kn...

Dating back to 1170 Dunbrody is an excellent example of a Cistercian Monastery in Ireland. It's located about 8 miles south of the County Wexford town of New Ross.
The site of the ruins of Dunbrody Castle now houses a craft shop with quality hand-made local crafts. There is a small museum within the tearooms with family information and a very large dolls house - a scale replica of the castle. There is a small pitch and putt course and a full size hedge maze - one of only two in Ireland...

Moyne Abbey and Rosserk Abbey are located close to each other, north of Ballina. Both compete for the title of largest and most impressive ecclesiastical ruins in Mayo and both have much in common. Moyne was founded by the Burke Family as a Franciscan friary. Built in the late Irish Gothic Style, it was consecrated in 1462. This abbey was destroyed in the 1590s by Queen Elizabeth's governor of Connacht, Sir Richard Bingham....

The Abbey was erected on the site of an older monastery  some time after 1216 by Geoffrey de Marisco for the Canons Regular of St. Augustine. The Abbey was dedicated to Our Blessed Lady and by 1302 it was the third richest monastery in the Diocese of Ardfert with its Prior being a Lord of Parliament.

Only the church, with a single long nave, remains. The windows, doors and niches made from sandstone can be dated to the 13th century, while th...

An Abbey dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and founded for the Cistercians from Boyle in 1189-90 by Cathal Crovdearg O'Connor, King of Connacht. The church has a nave, chancel and a transept with two chapels. The nave is simple and austere, with little ornament except at the top of the pillars. In contrast, the rib-vaulted chancel has beautifully carved stonework with fine capitals and east windows. It has a 13th century tomb niche.

On the north wall of the chancel is a unique...

The building that is now the Abbey was erected in the 1830's as a residence by the Barrington family....

Founded by the MacNamaras in the middle of the 14th century using some of the curtain wall of the Anglo Norman castle built around 1280 by Richard de Clare. The cloisters were erected in 1402 and remain one of the features of the abbey. The Franciscan friars came later in the century. The view from the top of the tower is quite spectacular. A caretaker is on the grounds full time and should be contacted before entering....