Overview
Moor Abbey has been burned at least twice, emptied by Cromwell’s men, and, in 1921, dynamited by the Royal Irish Constabulary – the charges went off and the tower stayed up. What’s left is a roofless Franciscan friary on the edge of Galbally, at the western end of the Glen of Aherlow, with the Galtee Mountains behind it. Known in Irish as An Múr, it’s a National Monument in the care of the OPW, free to enter, and a short level walk from the car park brings you straight into the nave.
A turbulent history
The friary was founded for the Franciscans between 1210 and 1242 by Donnchadh Cairprech Ó Briain, King of Thomond. The church you see now was built in 1471 by Aunfurn M’Bryon and burned the very next year; the rebuild after that gave the nave, chancel and bell-tower that survive.
Then the trouble really started. At the dissolution in 1540 the abbey was sold off to John FitzGerald, brother of the 14th Earl of Desmond, for £15. During the Desmond Rebellions it was burned by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1569 and again by Sir Henry Sidney in 1570 – and it was in 1570 that Fr Dermot O’Mulrooney and two companions were killed here by government troops. The friars kept coming back: they returned in 1645 only to be expelled by Cromwellian forces, returned again in 1658, and held on until 1748, when they left for Mitchelstown. The ruin sat quietly after that until the RIC’s failed demolition in 1921.
What to see
The bell-tower is the thing to look at – three storeys of sandstone and limestone standing between nave and chancel, with a spiral stone stair inside and a small aumbry where the Eucharist was kept. In the chancel, find the double piscina, a twin stone basin for rinsing the sacred vessels, and beside the north doorway a stoup that once held holy water for friars coming in from the sacristy.
The most affecting detail is underfoot. Excavations where the cloister once stood turned up three grave slabs of the 16th and 17th centuries, widely thought to be Fr O’Mulrooney and the two friars murdered in 1570. Picnic benches sit opposite the ruins, and the low sun early and late throws the arches and pointed windows into sharp relief – the best time to photograph the place.
Getting there
Galbally sits near the Limerick border at the western end of the Glen of Aherlow, and the abbey is signposted just east of the village. A small free car park directly opposite takes cars and bikes. There are no facilities on site – no café, no toilets – so sort that in Galbally first. Wear sturdy shoes; the OPW warns the uneven stone gets slippery after rain, and dogs are welcome on a lead.
Nearby
- Athassel Priory – A large 13th-century Augustinian priory with a well-preserved church and cloister, a short drive off.
- Cahir Castle – One of Ireland’s best-kept medieval fortresses, on the River Suir.
- Galtee Mountains – The highest inland range in Ireland, with hill-walks straight up from the glen.
- Glen of Aherlow – Ring forts, stone circles and waymarked trails along the valley.
Moor Abbey is a twenty-minute stop, not a half-day – see the tower, find the grave slabs, and go early or late if you want the light. It slots neatly into a Glen of Aherlow drive.