Kilgeever Abbey

Kilgeever Abbey just outside Louisburgh in County Mayo consists of a ruined church, a graveyard and a holy well, where pilgrimages or patterns take place. The site is part of the Clew Bay Archaeological Trail. The church is a multi-period church containing a late medieval doorway. The graveyard on the site is suggested to be from Early Christian times and continues to be in use. Within the graveyard, there is a pillar stone incised with a cross, the graveyard also contained a free-standing stone and a portable stone cross with incised crosses which are now in private ownership.

The church is built on the site of an earlier Patrician church. There is little surviving historical information on the church building. There is a round-headed window in the east, typical of twelfth century Romanesque architecture in Ireland. The church was later modified to include a new Gothic-style door. The door dating to the fifteenth century has a pock-dressed arch and a drawbar as a locking mechanism. There are only foundations remaining of the western gable. Votive offerings were found in the left aumbry in the east end of the church, two niches in the east also contained vessels.

References:

• Wikipedia

Address

Kilgeever, Louisburgh, Ireland

Details

Founded: 12th century
Category: Religious sites in Ireland