Corcomroe Abbey in Burren, County Clare

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Get directions Burren, County Clare, Ireland

Coordinates: 53.12670, -9.05401
Cemetery ID:

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Mainistir Chorco Modhruadh (Corcomroe Abbey) is a National Monument of Ireland it is an early 13th-century Cistercian monastery located in the north of the Burren region of County Clare, Ireland, a few miles east of the village of Ballyvaughan. It was once known as "St. Mary of the Fertile Rock", a reference to the Burren's fertile soil.

Construction on the abbey most likely began sometime between 1205 and 1210 and used local limestone. Legend maintains that the building was commissioned by King Conor na Siudane Ua Briain, who died in 1267 and whose tomb niche and effigy are visible in the north wall of the choir. According to the legend, Ua Briain executed the five masons who completed the abbey to prevent them from constructing a rival masterpiece elsewhere. In reality, it was probably built by Conor's grandfather, Donal Mór Ua Briain (Donald O'Brien), the patron of a number of other religious structures in the historic Thomond region.

The English Reformation led to the dissolution of Catholic monasteries in England and Ireland. In 1554, the abbey was granted to the Earl of Thomond. The monks continued to tend the fields and maintain the abbey as circumstances allowed, but the political climate led to continued decline. The last abbot, the Reverend John O'Dea, was named in 1628.