Hore Abbey 1455 Stock Photography

This was the last Cistercian Abbey to be founded in Ireland in medieval times. It was originally built by the Benedictines. They, however, were evicted from the site by Archbishop David McCarvill, who, in a fit of paranoia, imagined that the Benedictine monks had hatched a plot against him. Cistercians from Mellifont, an order considered to be more fashionable at that time, promptly replaced them. At the height of its power, the Abbey laid claim to nearly 400 acres and, charmingly, & x22;a measure of ale out of every brewing& x22; in the town. The Abbey, which is dedicated to St. Mary, gets its name from the Irish translation of An Mainistir Liath & x28;grey abbey& x29;. The name also refers to the colour of the Cistercian habit, which was a similar shade to that of hoar frost.