Holy Cross Abbey

Holy Cross was founded in 1180 by Donal Mor O'Brien and took its name from a relic of the True Cross given to the community, which drew pilgrims through the medieval period; a relic is again venerated here, given by the Ursulines in the 1970s. The fifteenth-century rebuilding produced some of the best late Gothic stonework in Ireland - the sedilia in the chancel, a canopied stone seat with elaborate tracery, and a rare wall painting of a hunting scene showing three men and a stag, one of very few medieval paintings surviving in an Irish church. The abbey was suppressed in the sixteenth century and stood roofless from around 1650. In 1969 a decision was taken to restore it completely for parish use, and the work was finished in 1975. That makes it unusual: almost every other Irish abbey is a conserved ruin, and this one is a functioning church with a medieval body.

What you actually see

• The sedilia - elaborately carved fifteenth-century canopied stone seating.
• The hunting mural - a rare surviving medieval wall painting.
• The full restoration - roofed and returned to use between 1969 and 1975.
• The Suir setting - the abbey and its bridge on the river.

When to go

Any season; indoors and in use year-round. It is a working parish church, so services and weddings limit access - weekday mornings are usually quiet.

Honest expectations

A functioning church, not a museum - services take priority and some visitors find the restoration removes the atmosphere of a ruin. Free, with donations requested. An hour covers it.

Nearby

The Rock of Cashel is south; Thurles and Semple Stadium are north.