Fenagh Abbey

Location:

Fenagh Co.Leitrim

 fenagh.jpg (Fenagh.jpg)

Details:

About 3km from Ballinamore lies a ruined medieval church built on the site of an early Christian monastery. The Abbey was used for a time as a place ofChurchofIrelandworship until the present church was built nearby circa 1798. The present day abbey ruins date from the fifteenth century. Nearby is another ruin which was likely residential accommodation for the monks of Fenagh. According to the Book of Fenagh, the founder of the original monastery was St. Caillin who was supposed to have arrived in Fenagh fromDunmorein Co. Galway in the 5th century. The Abbey had a famous monastic school. A writer of the 'Annals of the Four Masters' wrote that the monastery at Fenagh was "celebrated for its divinity school, which was resorted to by students from every part of Europe". The localChurchofIrelandhas a replica of the fine window illustrated