Turlough Abbey

National monument in Ireland

Location within Ireland

Monastery informationEstablishedc. AD 500–520Disestablished1635DioceseTuamPeopleFounder(s)Saint PatrickArchitectureStatusruinedHeritage designation

Designations
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Turlough Church & Round Tower
Reference no.	100

SiteLocationTurlough, County MayoCoordinates53°53′19″N 9°12′30″W / 53.888741°N 9.208270°W / 53.888741; -9.208270Visible remainschurch and round towerPublic accessyes

Turlough Abbey is a former monastery and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Location

Turlough Abbey is located about 600 m (650 yd) northeast of Turlough village.^[4]

History

Turlough is an early monastic site, possibly founded in AD 441 by Saint Patrick.^{[citation needed]}

In the ninth century an unusual low and squat round tower was constructed at the site.^[5]

In 1302 the Abbey was valued for the ecclesiastical taxation of Ireland. The Abbey survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries and a crucifixion plaque dated 1625 is an example of Counter-Reformation iconography.^{[citation needed]}

The Abbey was finally dissolved and granted to Walter Burke or John Fitzgerald by King Charles I in 1635.^{[citation needed]}

The site passed to the Fitzgeralds in 1653 and they were presumably responsible for the 18th century cruciform church with three round-headed windows in the chancel. Three crucifixion plaques have been built into the church. There is also the tomb of George Robert FitzGerald dated 1786.^[6]^[7]

Buildings

The round tower is relatively low at 23 m (75 ft) tall, and wide with a rounded-headed doorway and four square-headed windows.^[5] It has a round-headed doorway 4 m (13 ft) above ground level.

References

^ "Turlough Abbey - Irish Round Tower! - Barclaycard Travel Community".
^ Davenport, Fionn (1 January 2010). Ireland. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781742203508 – via Google Books.
^ Planet, Lonely; Davenport, Fionn; Harper, Damian; Nevez, Catherine Le; Berkmoes, Ryan Ver; Wilson, Neil (1 March 2016). Lonely Planet Ireland. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781760341237 – via Google Books.
^ Guides, Sunflower (1 March 2004). Ireland. Hunter Publishing, Inc. ISBN 9781856912433 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Cockroach. "Turlough Round Tower - ticket prices and opening hours information - map".
^ Heritage Site: Turlough Abbey near Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Cultural Heritage Ireland
^ Turlough Abbey Co Mayo, Ireland in Ruins (blog), 27 September 2016