Kells Priory

Kells Priory was founded in 1193 for Augustinian canons and is one of the largest medieval monastic sites in Ireland - a walled enclosure of about three acres with seven tower houses set along the curtain, which is why it is often described as looking more like a castle than a priory. It needed to: it was attacked and burned three times between 1252 and 1327 in the wars between the Anglo-Norman lords and, later, in the Bruce campaign. The enclosure is divided into two courts, with the church, cloister and domestic buildings in the northern one and a large walled field, the Burgess Court, to the south. Sheep graze inside the walls. The site is entirely free and unstaffed, open at any hour, with a car park and a footbridge over the King's River; there is a single interpretation panel and nothing else. Ground is uneven and the towers have open drops.

What's there

• The seven towers - set along the curtain wall around a three-acre enclosure.
• The two courts - the priory buildings and the walled Burgess Court.
• The church and cloister - substantial remains in the northern court.
• The open access - free, unstaffed, sheep grazing among the walls.

When to go

April to October for the ground; it is open at any hour year-round. Early morning and evening light on the towers is the reason photographers come. Wet and muddy after rain.

Good to know

Unstaffed with one panel and no facilities. Grazing livestock inside the walls, and the ground is uneven and boggy in places. Towers and stairs have open drops and are unlit.

Nearby

Kilkenny city is north; Jerpoint Abbey is east near Thomastown.

Key facts