Aghaboe Priory, Dominican friary in County Laois, Ireland
Aghaboe Priory consists of stone ruins that include a church with a three-light window in its east wall and doorways along the north and west sides. The remains display the basic structure of the religious complex that once functioned here.
Saint Canice founded the original monastery in 576, which was later rebuilt as an Augustinian priory after fire destroyed it in 1234. Dominican monks took it over in 1382 and remained there despite religious suppression in the 16th century.
The priory functioned as a place where monks engaged in scholarly work, copying religious texts and studying mathematics and the stars. This intellectual life made it a center of learning for the surrounding area.
The ruins sit along the Laois Heritage Trail with public access to the grounds, located roughly 30 minutes southwest of Portlaoise. The site sits in a rural setting and is straightforward to reach if you follow the marked paths.
Finghin Fitzpatrick handed the site to Dominican monks in 1382, and they lived there for more than 400 years. This long continuity through political upheaval makes the place noteworthy in Irish religious history.
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