Boyle Abbey

Boyle was founded in 1161 as a daughter house of Mellifont and took about fifty years to build, which is why the church is an architectural argument with itself: the nave arcade is round-arched Romanesque on the northern side and pointed Gothic on the southern, the styles changing as fashion moved during construction. Cistercian rule discouraged decoration, but the capitals here carry carved figures and foliage anyway, which suggests local masons doing what they were used to. The abbey was suppressed in 1569 and afterwards garrisoned, becoming a military barracks into the eighteenth century - which damaged the buildings but also kept them standing, since a used building is a maintained one. The church, gatehouse and parts of the cloister and domestic range survive to a good height. There is a small exhibition in the gatehouse and the site is staffed seasonally.

History

Saint Malachy brought the Cistercians to Ireland, founding Mellifont in 1142, and in 1148 Peter O'Mordha and twelve companions were sent to Connacht, trying several sites before settling at Boyle. The abbey was founded in 1161 but not consecrated until 1218, its building interrupted by the Anglo-Norman invasion and a fire in 1202 (Wikipedia, Boyle Abbey).

What to look for

• The mixed nave - Romanesque arches on one side, Gothic on the other.
• The carved capitals - figures and foliage against Cistercian austerity.
• The gatehouse - housing the site exhibition.
• The barracks history - the later military use that preserved the shell.

When to go

April to September, when the site is staffed and open; it closes for the winter. An hour covers it.

Good to know

Seasonal opening - closed for much of the year, so check before travelling. Ticketed. The cloister and domestic ranges are fragmentary compared with the church.

Nearby

King House is in Boyle; Lough Key Forest Park is a short drive east.

Key facts