| Msgr. Patrick S. Brennan |
|
Mellifont Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery established in Ireland. The Normans may have brought war to Ireland, but they also brought great stone-church building. Mellifont Abbey, founded in 1142 by St. Malachi, is one of Ireland's greatest religious monuments. Still standing are the ruined gatehouse, the vaulted chapter house (14C), and four faces of the two-story octagonal lavabo (12C). In 1556, the abbey became a private house; it was abandoned in 1727.