abbeys wicklow

Three miles (5km) south of Rathdrum is Whaley Abbey, residence in the eighteenth century of a noted Dublin 'blood' called Buck Whaley. He made a famous bet, which he won , that he would walk to Jerusalem and back within two years....

In 1148 Dermot Mac Murrough brought Cistercian monks here from Mellifont to found a new monastery which he called 'The Valley of Salvation', and Baltinglass in turn was the mother-house of a number of other Cistercian foundations including Jerpoint, Co. Kilkenny. The monastery was the centre of a number of disputes in the 13th century, one with the Archbishop of Dublin and another in which the monks were accused of harbouring 'felons against the English'. In 1377 Abbot Peter was awarded damages...

Two miles (3km) to the north-west is Shelton Abbey, formerly the residence of the Earls of Wicklow and now a state forestry school. The demense is noted for its rhodendrons.
This is now used as a prison since the 1970's....