JERPOINT ABBEY
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Cistercian abbey with the ruins of its church and remarkable cloister, amonument in Nore Valley Park.
Jerpoint Abbey is located 2 km from the charming little town of Thomastown (founded in the 13th century by Thomas Fitzanthony). Dating back to the 12th century, this Cistercian abbey powerfully erects the ruins of its church and cloister. Originally founded for Benedictine monks, it was quickly colonized by Cistercian monks.
The Cistercian order, founded in Cîteaux in France in 1098 and first established in Ireland at Mellifont Abbey in County Louth, was an austere order of prayer and work. The Cistercian rule forbade the construction of stone towers; the tower at Jerpoint was not added until the 15th century. The double-arched cloister has pillars sculpted (probably in the 16th century), with a telling simplicity, of a few characters (a bishop, a knight and his lady) and surprising animal motifs (a salamander snake whose long diabolical tail ends in a trefoil). There are three beautiful recumbents in the church (Bishop D'Ossory, Katherine Power and Robert Walsh). In the north aisle, two vaulted chapels contain tombs dating from around 1500, one of which has a carved panel depicting saints known as "the mourners" (they look like they are smiling, though...). In the south aisle there are two more vaulted chapels; in one of them there are two 13th century slabs facing each other: one depicting two knights, known as The Brethren, and the other an abbot with his hands raised.
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