{{Short description|Ruined friary in the Killarney National Park, Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Use Irish English|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox monastery | name = Muckross Abbey | native_name = ''Mainistir Locha Léinand Mainistir Mhucrois'' | native_name_lang = Irish | image = File:Muckross Abbey Friary 2014.jpg | caption = Muckross Abbey, 2014 | full = | other_names = Friary of Irrelagh<ref name="Journal of Royal Society">{{cite journal |last1=Allen |first1=J. Romilly |title=Notes on the Antiquities in Co. Kerry Visited by the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland and the Cambrian Archæological Association, August 1891 |journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland |date= 1892 |volume=2 |issue=5 |pages=158–170 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25507886?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref> | order = | denomination = Franciscan | established = 1448 | heritage_designation = | designated_date = | style = | location = | country = | map_type = | coordinates = | public_access = }}
'''Muckross Abbey''' (Irish: ''Mainistir Locha Léinand Mainistir Mhucrois)'' is a ruined Franciscan friary located in the Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. Previously known as the "Friary of Irrelagh", the abbey was founded in 1448 for the Observantine Franciscans by Donal McCarthy Mor. Today the abbey is largely roofless, but retains most of its original walls. ==History== The friary was originally known as the "Friary of Irrelagh", the abbey was founded in 1448 for the Observantine Franciscans by Donal McCarthy Mor<ref name ="Killarney National Park">{{Cite web|url=http://www.killarneynationalpark.ie/Muckross%20Abbey/Muckross%20Abbey.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323215323/http://www.killarneynationalpark.ie/Muckross%20Abbey/Muckross%20Abbey.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-03-23|title=Killarney National Park|date=2016-03-23|access-date=2018-07-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Meehan |first=Cary |date=2004 |title=Sacred Ireland |url= |location=Somerset |publisher=Gothic Image Publications |page=573|isbn=0 906362 43 1 |access-date=}}</ref>
During the late 16th century, the friary was attacked during the Desmond Rebellions under Elizabeth I In 1652, the friary was again targeted, this time by troops from a unit of Cromwell’s New Model Army, under the command of Edmond Ludlow. The soldiers deliberately removed the roof, leaving the friary uninhabitable. Several Franciscans were killed during the assault, while others fled abroad, primarily to France. The friary was subsequently abandoned.<ref name="Heritage Ireland">{{cite web |title=Muckross Franciscan Friary |url=https://heritageireland.ie/unguided-sites/muckross-franciscan-friary/ |website=Heritage Ireland |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref>
Muckross Abbey served as a burial place for local chieftains and poets during the 17th and 18th centuries, including Séafraidh Ó Donnchadha, Ó Rathaille and Ó Súilleabháin. Piaras Feiritéar, executed in 1653, is buried in the burial grounds surrounding the Abbey.<ref name="Killarney National Park" /><ref name="Megalithic Ireland">{{cite web |title=Muckross Abbey |url=https://www.megalithicireland.com/Muckross%20Abbey,%20Kerry.html |website=Megalithic Ireland |access-date=7 March 2025}}</ref>
==Description== The ruins are located on the east side of Lough Leane, approximately three miles south of Killarney.<ref name="Journal of Royal Society" />
The abbey consists of a rectangular nave and chancel, separated by a central tower, with a south transept. Adjoining the church is a cloister, around which were arranged the friary’s domestic buildings, including the dormitory, refectory, kitchen, and the prior’s residence.<ref name="Journal of Royal Society" />
The chancel is lit by a large east window. It also contains several medieval architectural features, including a piscina, a sedilia, and multiple tomb recesses set into the walls.<ref name="Megalithic Ireland" /> The friary’s most striking feature is its central cloistered courtyard, which contains a large yew tree traditionally believed to be several centuries old.<ref name="Heritage Ireland" />
== Gallery == <gallery mode=packed heights=150px heights="150px" perrow="5"> File:Groundplan of muckross abbey Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.png|Layout of the Abbey File:Muckross Abbey, Killarney. County Kerry, Ireland-LCCN2002717429.jpg|The abbey in the 1890s File:Interior_of_the_nave_at_Muckross_Friary_church,_Killarney_National_Park_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5646150.jpg|Nave interior File:More killarney.jpg|Abbey exterior view File:Mainistir_Mhucrois_(Muckross_Abbey)_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1445116.jpg|Abbey and cemetery File:Muckross Abbey Cloister 2013.JPG|Courtyard with cloister and yew tree. </gallery>
==See also== * Muckross House * List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kerry)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{commonscatinline|Muckross Abbey}}
{{coord|52.0261|N|9.4956|W|source:dewiki_region:IE_type:landmark|format=dms|display=title}} Category:Franciscan monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Category:1448 establishments in Ireland Category:Roman Catholic churches in County Kerry Category:Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Category:Christian monasteries established in the 1440s Category:National monuments in County Kerry