Free Guide - Discover Ireland

* An Artist Impression, as it might have looked
in its heyday, illustration by Uto Hogerzeil
Mountjoy at Mellifont Abbey signing the
Treaty of Mellifont. This sounded the death
knell for Gaelic civilisation in Ireland. During
the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 King William
based his headquarters at Mellifont. The
house was abandoned and fell into disrepair
in the early 1700s.
Although the remains of the Abbey are
fragmentary, Mellifont is historically and
architecturally significant. It was the first
abbey in Ireland to be laid out according
to the European cloistral plan – buildings
constructed around a central open space.
Its distinguishing feature is an octagonal
lavabo, constructed about 1200, which
functioned as a place for the monks to
wash their hands in a symbolic gesture as
a preparation for prayer. Lavabo means ‘I
shall wash’. The lavabo, the chapter house
and the late medieval gate house remain
partly intact. The layout of the reminder of
the abbey can be seen from foundations
revealed during excavations.
Did you know … Devorgilla (often described
as ‘Ireland’s Helen of Troy’), whose
elopement with Dermot MacMurrough led
to the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in 1169
is buried beneath the chancel pavement at
Mellifont. In 1157 she donated 60 ounces
of gold, along with altar cloths and a gold
chalice to Mellifont. She died there in 1193
at the age of 85.
Contact Details:
Old Mellifont Abbey, Tullyallen,
Drogheda, Co. Louth
T: + 353 (0) 41 982 6459
F: + 353 (0) 41 982 6053
E: mellifontabbey@opw.ie
W: www.heritageireland.ie
FOR OPENING TIMES AND ADMISSION DETAILS PLEASE SEE PULL OUT INSERT AT THE BACK 17