Turlough Abbey is a former monastery and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

, Ireland.

Location

Turlough Abbey is located about 600 m (650 yd) northeast of Turlough village.

History

Turlough is an early monastic site, possibly founded in AD 441 by

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

. In the ninth century an unusual low and squat round tower was constructed at the site. In 1302 the Abbey was valued for the ecclesiastical taxation of Ireland. The Abbey survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries and a crucifixion plaque dated 1625 is an example of

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

iconography. The Abbey was finally dissolved and granted to Walter Burke or John Fitzgerald by King Charles I in 1635. The site passed to the Fitzgeralds in 1653 and they were presumably responsible for the 18th century cruciform church with three round-headed windows in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

. Three crucifixion plaques have been built into the church. There is also the tomb of

George Robert Fitzgerald George Robert Fitzgerald, aka Fighting Fitzgerald (c.1748 – 12 June 1786) was a celebrated Irish eccentric, duellist and landowner, who was hanged for conspiracy to murder in 1786. Biography FitzGerald came from Turlough, near Castlebar, ...

dated 1786.Turlough Abbey Co Mayo
Ireland in Ruins (blog), 27 September 2016

Buildings

The

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

is relatively low at tall, and wide with a rounded-headed doorway and four square-headed windows. It has a round-headed doorway above ground level.

References

External links

* *{{YouTube, w3Q3KX8k25g Christian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Mayo Archaeological sites in County Mayo National Monuments in County Mayo