This is a very pleasant town in the midlands of Ireland. You are very likely to pass through on your tours of Ireland. The Cistercian Abbey, after which the town was named, has long since disappeared. But you can see clearly the work carried out by an improving...
Clare Island, set in Clew Bay, is dominated by two hills, and a square 15th century castle commands the headland and harbour. In the 16th century the island was the stronghold of Grace O’Malley, pirate queen and patriot, who held sway over the western coast....
A few low stone walls and ruined buildings cupped in a hollow of protective hills , are all that is left of Ireland’s first Cistercian Abbey. It was founded in 1142 by St Malachy , Bishop of Armagh , after a stay in the French...