baltinglass cistercian abbey

In 1148 Dermot Mac Murrough brought Cistercian monks here from Mellifont to found a new monastery which he called 'The Valley of Salvation', and Baltinglass in turn was the mother-house of a number of other Cistercian foundations including Jerpoint, Co. Kilkenny. The monastery was the centre of a number of disputes in the 13th century, one with the Archbishop of Dublin and another in which the monks were accused of harbouring 'felons against the English'. In 1377 Abbot Peter was awarded damages because two men had diverted water from his mill. After the Suppression in 1541, the monastery buildings and lands passed to Sir Thomas Eustace, a Catholic loyalist. The church consisted of a nave with aisles, chancel and two transepts, and building was probably complete by 1170. the south arcade of choir and nave which remains is slightly later in date, and has alternating round and square pillars supporting capitals with peculiarly Irish motifs. The three west windows are 12th century, but the three east windows and the tower (now housing carved fragments and some medieval tiles from the Abbey) are 19th century.