Rooms

Abbeyknockmoy Cistercian Abbey

Site Plan
Abbeyknockmoy OCist Plan

The nave or laybrothers' choir is located in the western part of the church, the nave was where congregations gathered to hear sermons preached and to attend Mass. In Cistercian churches, the nave was the site of the Laybrothers’ Choir, the area in which those members of the community charged with manual work attended Mass and an abbreviated form of the Divine Office at the beginning and the end of their day’s work

The view that greets the visitor when they enter the church through the western doorway.

The nave is lined with an arcade of arches, with the remains of the clerestory windows above.

The presbytery at the end is separated by a wall, later added when the space was too large for the needs of the congregation.

The western entrance of the church at Abbeyknockmoy.

The head of a king is visible on the third pier of the southern arcade of arches.

The head of a king, possibly Cathal Croibhdhearg O’Conor, king of Connacht and brother of the last high king of Ireland, Rory (Ruaidhrí) O’Conor (d. 1198)

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The aisle is the area on either side of the nave or chancel

This area is separated from the nave through an arcade (a row of arches and columns).
Aisles often housed side altars and were used for liturgical processions

View of the north wall of the nave, where two arches remain intact, with the remains of a third visible.

The clerestory window appears above the piers, not the arches, in keeping with Irish Cistercian tradition.

There is no continuous arcade between the aisle and nave due to the positioning of the laybrothers’ choir at the west end of the church, thereby removing the need to arches behind the choir.

Northeast view across the cloister, with the east range of buildings in view.

The arcade of arches is not complete, with arches that once linked with the presbytery now gone.

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The monks’ choir is situated at the east end of the church and separated from the nave by a wooden or stone screen (cancellus), the chancel was the area reserved to the members of the religious community. At its west end were the choir stalls where the community gathered for the daily celebration of the Divine Office. At the east end of the chancel, underneath the principal window stood the High Altar and the sedilia or ornamental seats for the clergy officiating at Mass. This part of the chancel was also known as the presbytery

The monks' choir was once separated from the nave by a wooden screen, but now a wall.

The arches between the transept and presbytery were blocked up in the 15th century, leaving smaller doorways for access.

Access to the choir and presbytery and now through 3 gated entrances.

The arch of the chancel/ presbytery with the separating wall in the foreground.

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The Presbytery is located at the east end of the chancel, underneath the principal window stood the High Altar and the sedilia or ornamental seats for the clergy officiating at Mass. This part of the chancel was also known as the presbytery

The presbytery of the church, also known as the chancel.

The presbytery is rib vaulted with a chamber above

The presbytery contains a triple eastern window, with a later window added above.

On the north wall of the presbytery , the O’Kelly tomb is visible, as is the decorative corbel and the remains of the mural beyond.

The windows have been replaced and the room sealed to prevent further deterioration of the mural.

The arches between the transept and presbytery were blocked up in the 15th century, leaving smaller doorways for access.

Funeral monuments on the south wall of the presbytery.

The remains of the Malachy and Finnuola O’Kelly tomb of 1402/3.

The mural of the crucifixion together with four figures within the arch has disappeared through decay.


The tomb is a combination of Gothic and Romanesque styles, with Romanesque zig-zags in the recess of the main arch and Gothic pinnacles either side of the arch.

The head of John the Baptist sits on top of the arch.

An inscribed stone lay at the base of the tomb but it was removed in 1853, causing the tomb to collapse.

The tomb was made by Matthew O’Anly.

The head of John the Baptist sits on top of the arch of the Malachy and Finnuola O’Kelly tomb.

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In monastic churches the transepts were rectangular extensions abutting the nave/chancel that gave the church its characteristic cruciform appearance. In friary churches generally only one transept is found. The transept provided space for additional altars dedicated to various saints and serving as mortuary, burial or chantry chapels for the community’s benefactors. In friaries the transept was often the location of a shrine to the Virgin Mary and was known as the Lady Chapel

View from the southern part of the transept looking at the remains of the southern aisle of the nave.

The shaft of light inside the arch highlights the night stairs which linked the monks' dormitory with the transept and church.

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The secondary altars within a designated space in the church are known as chapels

These can be dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Lady Chapel) or be erected by members of a specific family as a private chapel

Mass was celebrated here for smaller congregations

The side chapel to the south of the church.

While often dedicated to a saint or the Virgin Mary, they were also used as private family chapels.

In this case, it is the French family chapel, with the funeral plaque of Evelin French visible to the left.

The funeral memorial of Evelin French, who died in 1684. It was erected by her children in her memory.

Evelin French (neé Browne) was the daughter of Sir Dominick Browne, MP of Anthony (1634) and Mayor of Galway (1634-35)

Evelin first married Robert fFrench, secondly marrying Sir Oliver French.

PRAY FOR

THE LADY

EVELIN FRE

NCH HER

SOULE WHO

ORDAINED HER

SELFE TO BE INTERED

IN THS ABBY FOR HER

THIS MONUNENT WAS

ERECTED BY HER CHILD

REN PATRICK FRENCH

AND VALENTIN FRENCH

AND FOR A BURIAL PLACE

FOR THEM SELVES AUG

ST THE 8TH 1684

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The sacristy (or vestry) is a room off the church, where vestments, church furnishings and altar plate are stored and where the clergy robe for church services

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The chapter house played a key role in monastic life. The community gathered here every morning after Prime (first hour of prayer at the first hour of daylight – usually 6am) to listen to a reading of a chapter of their rule, to pray for their benefactors and to receive instructions for their daily tasks. Elections, the reception of new members into the community, disciplinary matter and the admission of benefactors to confraternity with the community all took place in the Chapter House

The chapter house was where the community gathered every morning to listen to readings, pray for benefactors, hear confessions and delegate daily tasks.

The room was divided by an arcade of arches at a later date.

External view of the chapter house

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The east range contained the rooms essential for conducting monastic life, such as the sacristy, chapter house, calefactory and dormitories above.

The remains of the east range of the abbey which would have contained the chapter house, sacristy, garderobe and dormitory.

The presbytery features a modern roof and glazed windows to protect the wall murals within.

The view of the remains of the dormitory from the top of the night stairs in the southern transept.

This room was where the brethren slept in common. In the later Middle Ages some dormitories were partitioned into cubicles to provide privacy

Northeast view across the cloister, with the east range of buildings in view

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The garderobe was the lavatory usually situated at the northern end of the dormitory. It consisted of a room with a long bench and a pit below into which the waste fell. Many religious houses had sophisticated sewerage systems that flushed the waste away

The garderobe or lavatory was part of the east range, the structure protruding from the east range visible to the left of the picture.

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Refectory:

The refectory was the main dining room of the community, normally located in the cloister range parallel to the church. In houses of Augustinian Canons, the refectory was often located on the first floor, a position that recalled the cenaculum, or upper room in Jerusalem in which Christ had celebrated the Last Supper. Each refectory contained a pulpitum, or reader’s desk from which a member of the community read devotional material during the silent communal meals

There was a lavabo at the entrance for the religious to wash their hands

The south range at Abbeyknockmoy, which would have contained the refectory, the main dining room of the community.

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The uncovered central space within a cloister is known as the garth.

The cloister garth is surrounded by the cloister arcade or alley, which was a covered walkway which connects the domestic ranges and the church

Looking northwest over the remains of the cloister and southern wall of the nave, with two arches and remnants of clerestor window above.

The stone cloister, which is marked by the low wall framing the grass, was removed during the monastic suppression of the 1540s. During the 15th century, this stone cloister had replaced an earlier wooden one.

The grave stones in the cloister garth show its subsequent use as a burial ground, which has damaged the cloister further.

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