Jerpoint Abbey

Jerpoint was founded in the twelfth century, taken into the Cistercian order, and kept working until the monasteries were dissolved in the sixteenth century. The church survives to a good height, with a squat crossing tower added late, a Romanesque arcade in the nave and traces of painting on the transept wall. The reason people drive out here is the cloister: its arcade was rebuilt with carved pillars, and each carries figures, knights, bishops, a bagpiper, animals, in a style that appears nowhere else at this scale. Tomb effigies and carved slabs are gathered in the church, including the mourning figures known as weepers. The guides know the carvings well.

History

The abbey was founded in the second half of the 12th century, possibly by Domnall Mac Gilla Pátraic, who died in 1176; it may have existed from the 1160s but was formally joined to the Cistercian order only in 1180, and until about 1310 its monks were of Irish descent (Wikipedia, Jerpoint Abbey).

Highlights

• The cloister arcade - carved pillar figures of knights, clerics, animals and a bagpiper.
• The tomb effigies - medieval carved knights and bishops, with weeper figures along the sides.
• The crossing tower - the later battlemented tower standing over the church.
• The wall painting - faded medieval decoration surviving in the transept.

When to go

Opening is seasonal, generally from spring into autumn with reduced days at either end, so check before driving out. Guided tours run through the day and are worth waiting for, since the cloister carving means little unexplained. Bright, dry weather helps, because the carvings are shallow and read badly in flat grey light.

Before you go

The abbey is roofless and open to weather, and it closes for part of the winter. The cloister carvings are worn and set low, so you spend much of the visit stooping. It sits off the main road with limited parking, and there is little at the site beyond a small visitor centre and a car park.

Nearby

Thomastown and the Nore valley are minutes away; Kilkenny city is a twenty minute drive north.

Key facts