Portumna Abbey
Between the castle and the lake, half a kilometre south of the town, the ruined church of Portumna Abbey is 35 metres long with a tower at its crossing and a cloister whose arcade has been partly put back. Cistercians from Dunbrody in Wexford founded a chapel here in 1254; the O'Maddens gave it to the Dominicans in 1426, and the friars were still here when the Battle of Aughrim sent them running in 1691.
Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.
No machine-readable author provided. Bogman assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Portumna Castle, Portumna Castle and Gardens, Castle Harbour on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.
Cistercians, Dominicans, Burkes
The first chapel, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was a dependency of Dunbrody Abbey. As the Cistercian house declined, Murchad Ó Madáin of the O'Madden lords of Síol Anmchadha founded a Dominican friary in 1426, dedicated to St Mary Assumed into Heaven with Peter and Paul. It was dissolved around 1582 and granted to Ulick Burke, third Earl of Clanricarde, whose family later built the castle beside it. The friars came back in 1640 under Ambrose Ó Madadhan as prior; Richard Ó Madadhan was prior in 1691 when they fled after Aughrim, and Anthony McHugo was prior when the Dominicans were formally expelled.
The ruins
The church has a nave and chancel divided by the tower, a large collection of medieval graveslabs and memorial plaques, and a piscina. The cloister and sacristy lie on the north side. The abbey is a national monument; Portumna Castle and its gardens, the forest park and the Lough Derg shore are all within a few minutes' walk, and the model on this page pins them.
Questions people ask
When was Portumna Abbey founded?
Where is Portumna Abbey?
Written from Wikipedia, "Portumna 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.