About
On the north bank of the Abbert River, a kilometre from the village of Abbeyknockmoy, stands the Cistercian abbey of the Hill of Victory, founded in 1189 by Cathal Crobhdearg O'Connor, King of Connacht, who was buried here beside his wife Mór in 1224, in the habit of a grey friar according to the Annals of Connacht. William de Burgo plundered it in 1202, and in 1240 an abbot was censured for having his hair washed by a woman. The early 13th-century church, about sixty metres long, has a rib-vaulted chancel with carved capitals and transepts with barrel-vaulted chapels, and on the chancel's north wall are rare 15th-century paintings of the Holy Trinity, the martyrdom of St Sebastian and the Three Dead and Three Live Kings, under a roof OPW added in the 1980s. Reviewers say children can explore for an hour among the ruins and earthworks; the walk from the car park crosses two gates, a field and some awkward stiles.
Open in daylightFrom OPW Heritage Ireland's published times
- Open any reasonable time in daylight
Opening times may change at short notice.
An unguided open-air national monument in OPW's care with no staff and no facilities. OPW warns that care and caution should be kept throughout a visit to its unguided sites.
OPW's notice: there is a stile to get through for access, over a fence via steps; OPW tags the site 'Challenging Access'. Reviewers mention two gates, a field and awkward stiles; livestock may graze the pasture.
Whether the roofed chancel with the wall paintings can be seen inside is not published. Local graves lie in the cloister. No toilets.
Photo: Knockmoy Abbey in evening light, the roofed chancel and the church's west gable with the ruined cloister ranges beyond. DanielecDalton, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Knockmoy_Abbey.JPG. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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