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'Mellifont Abbey' (Irish: ''An Mhainistir Mhór'', literally "the big abbey"), located in County Louth, was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland.

Contents

Origins

The Synod of 1154

The Abbey since closure

External links

Origins

Founded in 1142 on the orders of Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, Mellifont Abbey sits on the banks of the River Mattock, some ten km (6 miles) from Drogheda.
Mellifont Abbey became the model for other Cistercian abbeys built in Ireland, with its formal style of architecture imported from the abbeys of the same order in France; it was the main abbey in Ireland until it was closed in 1539, when it became a fortified house.

The Synod of 1154

An important synod was held in Mellifont in 1152 as recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters, which asserts that the synod was attended by bishops and kings along with the papal legate John Paparo (Saint Malachy having died some ten years beforehand). The consecration of the church took place in 1157 and asserted Church authority by banishing the King of Meath, Donnchadh Ua Maeleachlainn.
Various kings gave donations to assist this foundation: Muirchertach Ua Lochlainn, provincial king of Ulster, gave cattle, some gold and also a local town land, Donnchad Ua Cearbhall, the king of Airgialla, who had donated the land, also gave gold, while Derbforgaill, the wife of Tigernan Ua Ruairc gave gold, a chalice and altar cloths.

The Abbey since closure

William of Orange used Mellifont Abbey House as his headquarters during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Mellifont Abbey is now a ruin. Little of the original Abbey remains, save a 13th-century lavabo (where the monks washed their hands before eating), some Romanesque arches and a 14th-century chapter house.

External links

★ The Boyne Valley Tourist Portal - Info on and images of Old Mellifont Abbey