Muckross Abbey Killarney

Muckross Abbey is about 3 miles from Killarney on the Kenmare road. There is a carpark on the right just before The Muckross Hotel and from there it is a walk of a few hundred yards.
The first monastery here was built by Saint Fionán in the 6th century to deal with overflow from the monastic settlement on Innisfallen island some miles away, but this was burnt in 1192.
Work on the current building began in 1440 and the Abbey "opened for business" in 1448. The building of this Abbey was a huge undertaking and as Ross Castle was being built at the same time, it is indicative of a society recovering from the economic depression and "The Black Death" of the previous century. The Yew tree (seen below) in the centre of the Abbey was planted when the Abbey was built, making it 560 years old this year and the oldest living thing in Ireland. It was nearly 50 years old when Columbus discovered America.

Muckross Abbey, Killarney