Timoleague Abbey, in the town of the same name in Co Cork is an impressive building from the road. I must have driven (or been driven by my parents) past there hundreds of times over the years from childhood on but I don’t think I explored the Abbey ruins until about 3 or 4 years ago.
This is the graveyard surrounding the ruins, on a beautiful April afternoon last week. More on the Abbey here:
Timoleague abbey was founded by the franciscan order in 1240 A.D. The abbey was built on the site of a monastic settlement founded by Saint Molaga in the 6th century. The villages name comes from the Irish for House of Molaga, Tigh Mologa.The abbey was extended by Donal Glas McCarthy in 1312, and by Irish and Norman patrons in the 16th century. The monks were dispersed by the Reformation, but returned in 1604. In 1612 the abbey was sacked by English soldiers who also smashed all of the stained glass windows, but much of the significant architecture remains. The friars remained in the abbey until 1629.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
4 replies on “Timoleague Abbey and Graveyard”
Lovely Photo.
I think we drove past there on the same day. Obviously we should have stopped and looked round. Ended up exploring around Macroom instead that afternoon
I picked up a coffee mug from a long ago closed pottery in Timoleague that has the abbey on the side of the mug. A great mug to drink out of and a great image as well. I especially like the wind blown grass – that time of year when the grass is too long but it’s still not time to cut it. -An indication that spring is with us!
As an American, the notion you could drive by that with out exploring it seems crazy. It’s beautiful. I think old things have a more striking beauty for us the US since we don’t have very many old things to look at. No old things really, if you calculate old on European time.
I visited this Abbey in late May and have some very interesting photos. It’s still a beautiful building and worth the visit.