Muckross Abbey ( Irish: ''Mainistir Locha Léin'' and ''Mainistir Mhucrois'') is one of the major ecclesiastical sites found in the

Killarney National Park Killarney National Park (), near the town of Killarney, County Kerry, was the first national park in Ireland, created when the Muckross Estate was donated to the Irish Free State in 1932. The park has since been substantially expanded and en ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was founded in 1448 as a

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may ...

for the Observantine Franciscans by Donal McCarthy Mor. It has had a violent history and has been damaged and reconstructed many times. The friars were often subjected to raids by marauding groups and were persecuted by Cromwellian forces under Lord Ludlow. Today the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

is largely roofless, but is otherwise generally quite well-preserved with safe stairways providing access to the upper storey. Its most striking feature is a central courtyard, which contains a large

yew Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus '' Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus ...

tree and is surrounded by a vaulted

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

Groundplan of muckross abbey Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland

In the 17th and 18th centuries, it became the burial place for prominent County Kerry poets O'Donoghue, Ó Rathaille and

Ó Súilleabháin O'Sullivan () is an Irish people, Irish Gaels, Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Cork and County Kerry. According to Irish genealogy, traditional genealogy, the O’Sullivans were descended from the ancient Eóganacht Cha ...

, while

Piaras Feiritéar Piaras Feiritéar (; 1600 – 1653), or Pierce Ferriter, was an Irish clan Chief, and poet. Although best known for his many works of Bardic poetry in the Irish language, Feiritéar is also a widely revered folk hero in the Dingle Peninsula for ...

is buried in the graveyard just outside.

Gallery

File:More killarney.jpg, The Friary File:Muckross Abbey 2013.JPG, Abbey and graveyard seen from the west File:Muckross Abbey Cloister 2013.JPG, Courtyard with

and

yew tree Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus b ...

. File:Muckross Abbey Refectory 2013.jpg,

Refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

References

External links

* {{coord, 52.0261, N, 9.4956, W, source:dewiki_region:IE_type:landmark, format=dms, display=title Franciscan monasteries in the Republic of Ireland 1448 establishments in Ireland Roman Catholic churches in County Kerry Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Christian monasteries established in the 1440s National monuments in County Kerry

Gallery

See also

References

External links