Clare Abbey 2.93

Clare Abbey is a ruined Augustinian monastery located near Ennis and about a mile north of the Clarecastle in County Clare, Ireland.The abbey was founded in 1195 under the sponsorship of Domnall Mór Ua Briain (Donald O'Brien), the king of Thomond. After the suppression of the monastery in 1543 the parish lands, now the civil parish of Clareabbey, were given to the barons of Ibrackan by King Henry VIII of England. In 1620 it became the property of the Earl of Thomond.The ruins include a church and cloister with ranges of domestic buildings to the east and south of the garth, and a gateway and enclosures. The church was originally a long oblong building, 39 metres by 9 metres 40 centimetres, externally. The interior was subsequently divided into a nave and chancel by a belfry tower 4 metres 80 centimetres, and the chancel 14 metres 75 centimetres.Sources The Augustinian Houses of the County Clare: Clare, Killone, and Inchicronan by Thomas Johnson Westropp at Clare Library Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland 1845 at Clare Library