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Abbey · Dunmore

Dunmore Abbey

At the top of the village the ruined friary stands on ground that tradition gives to St Patrick himself in the fifth century. Walter de Bermingham, Baron Athenry, founded it for the Augustinian friars before 1425, and although the crown dissolved it in 1569 the friars stayed on; in 1641 a prior and thirty friars were still in residence, and they only left in 1645, taking refuge at Mayfield.

Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.

Photograph of the remains of Dunmore Priory, Co. Galway, Ireland
Photograph of the remains of Dunmore Priory, Co. Galway, Ireland
JohnArmagh, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Dunmore Abbey, Dunmore Castle on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.

After the friars

In 1574 the land was held by John Fitz-Thomas Burke. After the Reformation part of the friary became the Church of Ireland parish church, and a full inventory of the buildings was made in 1698. What draws the eye today is the decorated west doorway of the fifteenth century. The model on this page pins the abbey with Dunmore's castle and square, and the village's history page covers the Berminghams.

Questions people ask

Who founded Dunmore Abbey?
Walter de Bermingham, Baron Athenry, for the Augustinian friars, before 1425, on a site linked to St Patrick.
When did the friars leave Dunmore?
In 1645, when they took refuge at Mayfield; a prior and thirty friars had still been there in 1641.

Written from Wikipedia, "Dunmore Abbey" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.