Location – Close to Urlingford, and next to Gortnahoe, the abbey is located on the grounds of the Kilcooley estate.
OS: S 29045 57776
Longitude: -7.5713128
Latitude: 52.6700664
Description and History – This is a standout place. Of all the abbeys I have been to across the country, this one has to rank near the top of the list. The carvings alone are worth the trip to see before you even stand back to admire the structure. It is also an extremely confusing site because of its multiperiod nature, but with a little patience you can start to pick it apart. The foundation charter for the abbey dates to 1182 when Dómhnall Mór Ua Briain granted land for its construction. Two years later it became a daughter house of the Cistercian foundation at Jerpoint, Co. Kilkenny and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. It also carried the name of ‘monasterium de Arvi Campo’ meaning the ‘monastery of the arable plane’. The fifteenth century saw the abbey burned twice in 1418 and 1445 during attacks, which led to an almost total rebuilding by Philip O’Mulwanayn, although 12th and 13th century material does still survive. The abbey was dissolved in 1540 and surrendered by the abbot Thomas Shorthall. At that time the abbey is recorded as having c.700 acres of lands attached. Unusually, the 17th century saw monks returning to the abbey, and after the 1641 rebellion, it was briefly used as a novitiate for the Cistercian order before the order was dispossessed by Cromwellian forces in 1650. In the late 17th or early 18th century parts of the abbey were reused as a house for the Alexander family who had purchased the abbey from the Earl of Ormond. They converted the cloisters into gardens. When Kilcooley House was built in the late 18th century the abbey was largely abandoned, but in the 19th century a summer house and study were added to the abbey. It passed into the Barker family through marriage, and again to the Ponsonby family in the 19th century.
The present remains consist of a large church with nave and chancel containing surviving 12th and 13th century material. On the east and west side are two-bay transepts each with a chapel in the eastern bays of both. A small sacristy is located off the south transept. The night stair, located in the south transept, gives access to the accommodation level above, no longer accessible to the public. Also off limits now are the cloisters, due to structural problems in the west outer wall. The entrances into the cloister, however, are located in the nave, south transept and on the outer south wall of the cloister wall. The cloister is much altered as it was converted into gardens, as mentioned above. Original cloister arcades have been found and reconstructed, with one being repurposed to support a c15th century font in the north transept. This font has unusual decoration and is clearly intended to resemble rib and groin vaulting. The nave originally had aisles but was later blocked up reducing the size of the nave. This likely happened when the church was rebuilt in the 15th century. The transepts date to this period, as does the crossing tower, although parts of the nave the chancel remains original. The moulded doorways, traceried windows, rib vaulting, sedilia, and the elaborate screen wall all date to this period. It is the screen between the south transept and the sacristy that really stands out here. The carvings include St. Christopher carrying the infant Jesus, a crucifixion scene with Mary and John, and a mermaid with a comb and mirror. A fine effigial tomb is also located in the chancel on the north wall. It is the tomb of Pierce fitz Oge Butler who died in 1526. While the effigy belongs to the tomb, the two panels at the front do not, and likely came from the tombs in the south transept but are fine examples of O’Tunney school sculpture. The effigy shows a knight-like figure with face missing, and feet upon a curled-up dog – a symbol of loyalty.
Difficulty - It’s easy enough to find once you get into the Kilcooley estate. You can park at the nearby church, and it is a short walk from there.
Date of visit: 20th July, 2024.
For more ecclesiastical sites, click here.
For more sites in Co. Tipperary, click here.
