ABBEYMAHON, Cork was founded in 1172 by Dermot MacCormac MacCarthy, king of Desmond. The site was originally at Aghamanister and was colonized with a group of monks from Baltinglass. Almost a century lapsed before the monks of Aghamanister decided to move to a new site; it is possible that the time had come to renew the abbey buildings and the monks took the opportunity to find a more spacious site. The monks had moved to Abbeymahon by 1278, when Diarmait MacCarthaig, son of Domnall Cairbrech, was buried in the ‘new monastery’. The new site was on the estuary of the Argideen River, just over a mile east south-east of Timoleague, on the road to Courtmacsherry. The abbots of Abbeymahon were rebuked several times in the thirteenth century for not attending the General Chapter when summoned. It is not surprising that the abbots refused to attend considering that the journey was extremely lengthy and expensive. In the taxation of 1302-06 the income of the abbey was valued at £4, which would hardly have covered the cost of the journey. The annual income of the abbey during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was still a meager amount, estimated at just £18, with a potential income of £34 during peace time. At the time of the Dissolution it was found that the abbey church was functioning as the parish church and that all other buildings were being used by the local farmer. In 1568 the property was leased to the Viscount Barrymore and in 1584 the lease was transferred to Nicholas Walsh, Justice of Munster. The site was granted for ever to Nicholas Walsh in 1587, with some additional place names appearing on this grant. The remains consist largely of the east end of the church and some remnants of the tower.
BALTINGLASS, Wicklow was founded in 1148 by Dermot McMurrough, king of Leinster. It was the second house to be colonized from Mellifont. The construction of the permanent buildings had begun only a few years after the initial foundation and the church was raised relatively quickly. In 1228 it was recorded that there were thirty-six monks and fifty lay brothers living in the abbey. In 1185 the abbot of Baltinglass, Albin O’Mulloy, spoke out against the clergy coming from England and Wales, criticising their evil ways and bad example for the innocent Irish clergy. In 1186 O’Mulloy was made bishop of Ferns. After the Anglo-Norman conquest of Leinster, Baltinglass retained a strong Irish identity and the abbey played a big part in the ‘conspiracy of Mellifont’. In 1227 abbot Malachy was deposed and Baltinglass was made subject to Furness. A new, Anglo-Norman, abbot was installed; the community opposed him, drove him out of the abbey, knocked him off his horse and took the monastic seal. It took an armed force to get the abbot reinstalled. Following the incident the cellarer, being held responsible, was expelled to Fountains where, for a year, he was to take the ‘lowest place among the priests’. The new abbot resigned nevertheless. One of the abbots built himself a ‘tower house’ or castle in the late middle ages, and in 1541 it was reported that Baltinglass owned castles at Graungeforth, Knocwyre, Mochegraunge, Graungerosnalvan, Grangecon, Littlegraunge amongst others. In the early sixteenth century the annual income of the abbey was estimated at £76 (£126 in peacetime) making it one of the richest Cistercian abbeys in Ireland at that time. The Dissolution came quickly to Baltinglass: it was one of only five Irish Cistercian monasteries suppressed in the first round of closures, 1536-7.
Following the Dissolution the old Cistercian presbytery was adapted as a Protestant church and the tower house became the home of the FitzEustace family. The tower house was broken down, along with parts of the monastery, when James FitzEustace rebelled in 1580. In 1587 a house was erected on the site, possibly a rebuilding of the former tower house. This survived until 1882 when it was knocked down to provide building materials for the glebe house and new church. The new church was completed in 1883 and the abbey church was then abandoned. Although none of the conventual buildings survive, the abbey church remains relatively unscathed. The church is now considered one of the finest examples of Romanesque architecture in Ireland. The church contains a rich array of carvings, including some with animals and human figures. The north-east crossing pier is decorated with a lion and foliage ornaments, while a bronze crucifix in the Romanesque style also survives. The nave of the church is aisled with alternating cylindrical and square piers, the bases of which are decorated with a range of unusual designs. These were crafted by the so-called ‘Baltinglass Master’ who subsequently worked on the abbey at Jerpoint. A series of tiles have also been discovered at the site; one design depicts a warrior thrusting forward with a circular shield. Adjoining the abbey is a great, pyramid style, granite mausoleum; built in 1832 as a tomb for the Stratford family who were powerful estate owners in the area. Other features of interest are the bases of two Romanesque doorways in the nave aisle and the well-preserved sedilia in the presbytery.
ABBEYLEIX, Laois, the Mother house of BALTINGLASS was founded by Connor O’More in 1183 although the first monks did not arrive from Baltinglass until a yeare later. The site was on the banks of the River Nore, over thirty miles upstream from Jerpoint. The name of the abbey derives from the Latin name of the monastery ‘Lex Dei’. The fifteenth and sixteenth-century revenue was exceedingly low: the annual income was approximately £3, although its potential value in 1551 was estimated at £31. The abbey was surrendered to the king in 1552 and in 1563 the lands were granted to Thomas, Earl of Ormond. Following the Dissolution the abbey remained in use, often with former monks as parish priests. The nave was used for over 200 years until the crumbling fabric was replaced by a Protestant church. The abbey was left to fall into ruin, eventually leaving no trace of the buildings. During the eighteenth century the old village of Abbeyleix was replaced by the planned village of the Viscount de Vesci. During construction many stones of the old abbey were found. The only relics to have survived are the effigial tomb of Malachy O’More (1502) and a grave slab in memory of William O’Kelly (1531). The site of the abbey now lies within the demesne of Viscount de Vesci, probably within the vicinity of the nineteenth-century Protestant church. The relics are now preserved in a walled garden within the demesne.