Timoleague Abbey

Timoleague friary was founded around 1240 on the shore of the Argideen estuary, and its position is the thing - the walls stand at the edge of the water, with mudflats and wading birds at low tide and the estuary filling to the foundations at high. The Franciscans built and extended it into the sixteenth century; the tower, church, cloister and domestic buildings survive substantially, and the community traded through the estuary, importing wine, which the site's history makes a point of. English forces burned it in 1642. The graveyard around it is still in use. Nothing is charged, nothing is staffed, and the ruins are open at any hour, which suits the place - it is a quiet village and the friary is simply part of it. Floors are uneven, stairs are worn, and grass and stone are slippery in the damp estuary air.

History

The friary stands on an early Christian monastic site founded by Saint Molaga in the 6th or 7th century, from whom the town takes its name. The Annals of the Four Masters say the MacCarthy Reagh family founded the friary in 1240, documents place its foundation between 1307 and 1316, and it is now the largest medieval ruin in West Cork (Wikipedia, Timoleague Friary).

The main sights

• The estuary setting - the walls at the water's edge, mudflats at low tide.
• The tower and cloister - substantially standing from the medieval friary.
• The 1642 damage - the burning that ended the community's occupation.
• The graveyard - still in use around the ruins.

When to go

April to October for the ground and the birds on the mudflats. Open at any hour, free. Low tide shows the estuary at its best for wading birds.

Before you go

Unstaffed with minimal interpretation. Roofless throughout, so poor in rain. Uneven floors and worn stairs. The graveyard is active and should be treated accordingly.

Nearby

Courtmacsherry is along the estuary; Clonakilty and Inchydoney are west.

Key facts