Overview
By tradition, Clonbroney was the first convent in Ireland: an early monastic site for nuns, said to have been founded in the 5th century by St Patrick and dissolved after 1163. It stands in quiet farmland about six miles west of Granard, on the old road toward Longford town, near the village of Ballinalee.
Be clear about what this is before you drive out. There’s no car park, no signage and no standing abbey to photograph – it’s an open, unenclosed site in working countryside, with no interpretive panels or formal paths. Come for the history and the solitude, or fold it into a day around Ballinalee and Granard; it isn’t worth crossing the county for the stones alone.
History & St Samthann
Like many early Irish monastic sites, Clonbroney’s story blends record with tradition. The foundation is attributed to St Patrick, but the figure who gives the place its character is St Samthann, one of the more striking women of the early Irish church. She came from Urney in Tyrone to serve as abbess here, and later hagiography remembers her for her wisdom and her patronage of learning, with a string of miracles attached to her name. Sites like Clonbroney were centres of craft, farming and study as much as prayer, supporting both the religious community and the rural population around it.
Over the centuries the buildings were dismantled or repurposed, as happened across Ireland after the medieval church reforms and later agricultural change. What’s left today is more a marker in the landscape than a ruin to explore.
Visiting the site
The tangible feature is the Old Clonbroney Graveyard, where headstone records survive for those tracing local families; the parish’s Moatfarrell Graveyard is currently closed. The setting is gently undulating limestone country, with hedgerows, old field boundaries and the River Camlin threading through the lowlands nearby – suited to informal walking rather than any waymarked trail. Sturdy footwear helps, as the ground gets muddy after rain, and you should keep to public paths and respect the surrounding farmland.
Practical information
- Entry: The site is unstaffed and unenclosed; there’s no admission point.
- Facilities: None on site – no toilets, café or visitor centre. The nearest village with shops and pubs is Ballinalee.
- Best time to visit: Daylight hours, spring to early autumn, for the driest ground. The open limestone country offers little shelter from wind or rain.
Getting there
Clonbroney is best reached by car. From Granard, head west on the local road toward Longford town; the site lies just off this route among old field gates and stone boundaries. From Dublin, follow the N4 to Longford town, then the N55/R363 corridor toward Granard before turning onto the local access road. For buses, Donnelly’s Pioneer Bus Service runs Granard to Longford via Ballinalee, with three journeys each way daily and no Sunday service. Rural roads here are narrow and often unlit, so allow extra time.
Nearby attractions
Through North Longford, Clonbroney pairs well with:
- Granard – historic market town with a medieval motte and Georgian streets.
- Ballinalee – riverside village on the Camlin, with pubs, a churchyard and easy parking.
- Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre – Iron Age bog road reconstruction and museum, a short drive east.
- Norman Heritage Park – reconstructed medieval fortifications near Granard.
- Camlin River – riverside paths for angling, photography and longer loops.
Park on the roadside near the nearest public track entrance, or in Ballinalee if you’d rather a short walk on paved ground. Arrive on a weekday morning and you’ll likely have the place entirely to yourself.