What is recorded here

Francis Cosby broke the Stradbally abbey open around 1575 and twisted its stones into his own fortified house. The violent reuse erased the friary from human memory, but the chamber may still hold its own shape beneath the vault. The absence becomes a room only when imagination stops treating the victim as decoration.

In the middle of the village of Stradbally on the E side of Main Street opposite the Market Square. A Franciscan monastery was founded here in 1447 by O'More. The 1563 map now in the British Museum shows the friary at Stradbally as a long building with a Franciscan type tower rising out of the middle. (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 259). It was destroyed c. 1575, by Francis Cosby who constructed a fortified house (LA014-039004-) with its material. Mooney (1955, 155) stated that the abbey (LA014-039001-) of Stradbally had 'been thrown down by Francis Cosby, who built a dwelling house for himself in the same place from the materials'. Traces of the monastery were visible at the end of the eighteenth century but were removed by the nineteenth century (O'Hanlon and O'Leary 1907, vol. 1, 1, 327-329, 332-334, 410-411). No visible surface remains. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 27 May 2016

The site of Abbey, Vault in Stradbally was founded as a Franciscan monastery in 1447 by the O'More family. It is significant as a medieval religious foundation shown on a 1563 map, indicating its early presence and historical continuity in the village.

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.