Derrynane Abbey also known as Ahamore Abbey () is a ruined abbey in Derrynane in

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

, Ireland. It is located near the town of

Caherdaniel Caherdaniel () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland, located on the Iveragh peninsula on the Ring of Kerry. It is on the southwestern side of the peninsula, facing onto Derrynane Bay, at a T-junction on the N70 road. A stone ringfort (''cathai ...

and is very close to

Derrynane House Derrynane House () was the home of Irish politician and statesman, Daniel O'Connell. It is now an National Monument and part of a 320-acre (1.3 km²) national historic park. The house is located on the Iveragh peninsula on the Ring of Ker ...

, the house of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

. The abbey is on an island appropriately named Abbey Island. It is accessible from the mainland through a beach. It is believed to have been built in the 6th century.

Structure

The Abbey itself is in ruin. There are only 3 interconnecting buildings of the abbey left, all without a roof. The main

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

, like the other buildings, is overgrown and contains a number of graves, including those of Mary O'Connell (wife of

) and the eighteenth-century Gaelic poet, Tomás Rua Ó Suilleabháin. The three arched windows of the church are in good condition even though they are facing the sea. The other two buildings have little else of note but graves. In the graveyard surrounding the abbey, there is tomb made of white tile which has been chipped away in places.

Gallery

File:Abbey Island.jpg, Derrynane Abbey File:Mary O'Connell's Grave.jpg, Mary O'Connell's Grave File:White Tiled Tomb.jpg, White Tiled Tomb

References

Christian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in County Kerry Religion in County Kerry Ruins in the Republic of Ireland {{ireland-struct-stub