Holy Cross Abbey

Holy Cross was founded in 1169 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.

History

The abbey takes its name from a relic of the True Cross, which Queen Isabella of Angoulême, widow of King John, brought to Ireland around 1233 and gave to the Cistercian monastery founded in 1169 by King Donal O'Brien of Thomond, which she then rebuilt; it became a place of pilgrimage through the Middle Ages (Wikipedia, Holy Cross Abbey).

Highlights

• 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.

Before you go

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.

Key facts