Ecclesiastical site

The National Monuments Service's description

Site of abbey indicated on OS 6-inch map with holy well known as ‘Fooran Well’ located 60m to SW. Castle (WM030-038----) located 430m to SE. In 1837 O’Donovan recorded in the OS memoranda that this monument consisted of the ‘site of a small abbey not far from castle (WM030-038----)’ and that at this time there were ‘no remains of any walls’ (SMR File). On the Ordnance Survey Fair Plan map the monument is annotated as ‘Old Abbey’ and depicted as a long rectangular-shaped area delimited by a broken line. No upstanding remains of a building are indicated on any edition of the OS 6-inch maps. The site of this ‘Old Abbey’ was inspected in 1976 and described as following: ‘To the NE of the well (WM030-036----) is a mounded stony area covered with scrub. It contains what might be called collapsed rubble masonry and there are slight indications of an outer facing on W side. This site corresponds to the position marked on the OS sheets as the Abbey (site of)’. No earthworks. According to Gwynn and Hadcock this may be the location of one of the very few Poor Clare foundations in Ireland’ (SMR File). The site was revisited in the 1982 and described as following: The are indicated consists of very bumpy and uneven ground with many ridges, hollows and hillocks. There are also many clumps of bushes etc. This makes it difficult to determine features with any accuracy. However there are what appears to be foundations of a rectangular building in the position indicated. The structure is badly overgrown with bushes and undergrowth. It consists of the foundations of stone walls. It measures approx. 15m E-W x 8m N-S. There is a spread of collapsed stone around the structure’ (SMR File). It also appears to have a good deal of collapse in its interior. It is situated on the shoulder of a slight ridge. The ground slopes steeply towards a stream to E. The general surface in the vicinity is pitted with ridges and depressions. These do not form a definable pattern’ (SMR File). In 1985 the site of this abbey was damaged when land reclamation works caused the levelling of the earthworks and the clearance of scrub vegetation in the field containing the ecclesiastical site (SMR File). No abbey is indicated in this townland which was then called 'Grynan' on the 1656-9 Down Survey map of Ballyloughloe Parish (NLI p.7384). On the Down Survey map the adjoining townland to the N was called 'Monktowne' which may have been related to the presence of this abbey. This townland now forms part of the modern townland of Mount Temple.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 04 March 2014