Overview
Clones, a quiet border town in County Monaghan, packs a thousand years of church history into a few streets. Within a five-minute walk of each other you’ll find the ruins of Clones Abbey, one of Ireland’s oldest round towers, a high cross built from the fragments of two others, and a gabled stone shrine that may once have held a saint’s bones. There’s no ticket counter and no guide – it’s a self-guided walk you can do at your own pace, for free. If you only have twenty minutes, give them to the round tower and the high cross on the Diamond.
Walking the trail
The route threads through the town centre, starting on Abbey Street and finishing near the Diamond.
Clones Abbey (‘The Wee Abbey’)
The Augustinians built the surviving abbey in the 12th century on a monastic site far older. The remains mix a limestone interior with sandstone outer walls; look for the Romanesque archway, the single stone-cut window, and the haloed Celtic cross carved into the outer face. It’s small, and the pull is the masonry rather than the scale. The abbey and its round tower are listed together as National Monuments (nos. 111 and 112).
The round tower
The truncated round tower nearby is among the oldest in Ireland, with early features like horizontal lintels and small windows. It once stood about 75 ft (23 m) with a conical cap; roughly 51 ft (15.5 m) survives, capless. The raised doorway – built high to keep out raiders and animals – is the giveaway of its age, and the bare stone drum still holds the skyline.
The high cross
The high cross on the Diamond is unusual: it’s actually made from fragments of two different 10th-century crosses mounted together, which gives it its slightly mismatched look. The panels read like a stone Bible – Daniel in the lions’ den, Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, the multiplication of the loaves. It’s worth slowing down to trace what the weather has left.
St Tigernach’s sarcophagus
Near the round tower stands a sandstone sarcophagus carved from a single block into the shape of a little gabled church. It dates to the 13th century and may originally have held the relics of St Tigernach; it was shifted to its present spot in the 18th century to cover a burial vault. The old graveyard around it is worth a slow look for its 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century tombstones, many carved with skulls and other memento mori – a blunt reminder of mortality that later stones dropped.
The motte-and-bailey castle
The English raised a large motte-and-bailey castle in Clones in 1211, possibly on an earlier Irish site, though it seems to have been abandoned after an attack by Hugh O’Neill. One honest caveat: it’s on private land and not accessible, so it’s a footnote to the walk rather than a stop on it.
History
The religious story here starts in the early 6th century, when St Tigernach (also recorded as St Tierney) founded a monastery dedicated to St Peter and St Paul. Wooden buildings gave way to stone, surviving Viking raids and Norman incursions. Fires in 836, 1095 and 1184 damaged the site, and Hugh de Lacy sacked it in 1207. The Augustinians rebuilt in the 12th century, but the Reformation and suppression under Henry VIII ended monastic life; by the 17th century the ruins had been pressed into service as an English garrison before being left to the weather.
The parish church that stands nearby, St Tiernach’s Church, was commissioned in 1823 and opened in 1825. It’s an active place of worship, so it may be closed during services.
Practical information
- Getting there: The abbey sits on Abbey Street, a short walk from anywhere in town. The Ulster Canal Stores Visitor Centre on Cara Street is the place to start – it has tourist information, guided walking tours, a bistro, free on-site parking and disabled access.
- Access & mobility: The trail runs on paved streets and grassy paths. The abbey interior and churchyard have the uneven ground you’d expect of a historic site, so wear sturdy shoes.
- Opening & entry: The outdoor monuments are open all year and free.
- Facilities: Public toilets are near the town centre, and cafés are within a couple of minutes’ walk of the abbey.
Nearby
Pair the walk with the Clones Lace Museum a short stroll away, which tells the story of the town’s crochet-lace industry. In summer, the long evenings make it easy to add a coffee in town or a wander down to the canal after the monuments. The trail itself takes about 45 minutes to an hour at an easy pace and needs no booking – just bring a jacket, as the shaded ruins run cooler than the main street.