Convent (in ruins) — Abington

Standing immediately S of the SW angle of Abbey Owney graveyard (LI014-014006-) overlooking the Mulkear River 90m to the S and adjacent to the site of the levelled Cisterican abbey (LI014-014002-). It has been suggested by Seymour (1907, 180) that this building depicted as a 'Convent' on the 1840 ed. OS 6-inch map was not part of Owney Abbey (LI014-014002-) but was a 16th century house built by the Walsh family who acquired the lands of Owney Abbey in 1562. Seymour recorded that the Convent was 'the remains of a much later dwelling-house, built out of the remains of the abbey, into which the Walsh tomb was moved for some reason or another' (ibid.). In 1841 the Ordnance Survey Letters described the Convent building located immediately S of the SW corner of the graveyard and recorded the following about the remains of Abbey Owney; 'The walls of an old edifice, which the people say belonged to the old Abbey of this place, are still standing to the south of the Protestant Church (LI014-014005-) outside the wall of the Church yard (LI014-014006-). It is divided into two apartments by a wall that runs across the whole breadth. The building ran from east to west the eastern part measuring twenty feet four inches [6.1m] by ten feet ten inches [3.3m] and the western part nineteen and a half feet [6m] by fourteen feet three inches [4.3m]. The side walls are about sixteen feet high [4.8m] and three and a half feet [0.9m] thick. There are two doorways on the south side wall, one opening into each apartment, which consist, the one half of brickwork, and are of a quadrangular form. The materials of this structure are small field stones and cement of lime and sand mortar' (O'Flanagan 1929, 120). Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien and Matt Kelleher Date of upload: 3 July 2017