abbeys roscommon

The Abbey of St. John, called after St. John the Baptist, was situated on a lofty eminence and was endowed in the days of St. Patrick. It passed into the ownership of a Mr. Hudson, who called it the Manor of St. John and today gives us the name Hodson Bay. The annual feastday was on the 25th June and, for years, large numbers gathered there to celebrate the feast. But, in later years, the scene changed and dealers from Athlone availed of the opportunity to set up a market where everything from...

One of the best preserved in Ireland, this Cistercian Abbey was colonised from Mellifont in 1161. the building of the chancel, and the transepts with their side-chapels, must have begun shortly after this date, though the lancet windows in the east gable were inserted in the 13th century. There is an interesting combination of rounded and pointed arches in the transepts and crossing. The large square tower formed part of the church from the beginning, though it was raised in height at a later...