Religious house - Cistercian monks

The National Monuments Service's description

On a gentle S-facing slope in pastureland, near Abbeyknockmoy village, it overlooks the Abbert River to S. A Cistercian monastery founded in 1189-90 by Cathal Crobderg O'Conor, King of Connacht (Glynn 1904; Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 124). A Nat. Mon., the remains comprise a large conserved Transitional style church (E-W; L 60m) of early 13th-C date (Leask 1960a, 37-9) consisting of an aisled nave, a chancel and two transepts (see Cochrane 1904, 246). The chancel has a fine ribbed vault and E windows, while the transepts both contain two barrel-vaulted chapels at their E ends. Three of the arches of the crossing are walled up, possibly 15th-C work coeval with the insertion of the now largely ruined central tower (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 51). The N wall of the chancel bears 15th-C mural paintings depicting the Holy Trinity, the martyrdom of St Sebastian and the Three Dead and Three Live Kings (Crawford 1919; Leask 1960b, 174-5). The claustural buildings and ruined cloister lie to S, but only E wing, including the sacristy, chapter house and a later garderobe, is well preserved. The ruins of a rectangular building (E-W; L 11.35m, Wth 5m) (GA058-004002-), probably of post-medieval date (Sweetman 1987, 9-11), lie immediately to N. A modern mill (GA058-004005-), 325m to W, is said to occupy the site of the original abbey mill (Cochrane 1904, 247-8). A field system (GA058-004004-) and three holy wells (GA058-004007-) are also associated. (Crawford 1913, 152; Harbison 1975, 96)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999).

Date of upload: 05 August 2010

The monument was taken into Ownership under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 - National Monument 166.

The following images are attached:
GA058-004001-_01.jpg - Overall view from SE
GA058-004001-_02.jpg - Overall view from NW
GA058-004001-_03.jpg - View from cloister looking N
GA058-004001-_04.jpg - Overall view from E
GA058-004001-_05.jpg - Detail of mural painting in the chancel

References

Killanin, M.M. and Duignan, M.V. 1967 (2nd ed.) The Shell guide to Ireland. London. The Ebury Press.

Sweetman, P.D. 1987 Archaeological excavations at Abbeyknockmoy, Co. Galway. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 87C, 1-12.

Leask, H.G. 1960 (Reprint 1967 and 1990) Irish churches and monastic buildings, vol. II. Gothic architecture to A.D. 1400. Dundalk. Dundalgan Press.

Leask, H.G. 1960 (Reprint 1971, 1978 and 1985) Irish churches and monastic buildings, vol. III. Medieval gothic the last phases. Dundalk. Dundalgan Press.

Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R.N. 1970 (Reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Glynn, J.A. 1904 Knockmoy Abbey, County Galway. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 34, 239-43.

Cochrane, R. 1904 Abbey Knockmoy, County Galway: notes on the building and “frescoes”. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 34, 244-53.

Crawford, H.S. 1913 A descriptive list of early cross-slabs and pillars. (cont.) Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 43, 151-69, 261-5, 326-34.

Crawford, H.S. 1919b The mural paintings and inscriptions at Knockmoy Abbey. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 49, 25-34.

Harbison, P. 1975 (2nd. ed. 1992 reprint) Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Gill and Macmillan, Dublin.