William Despard Hemphill1864Holy Cross Abbey
Photograph
British LibraryShelfmark: C.44.d.7,8, Item number: 211
"Â…Ireland, from a very early period, abounded with monasteries and nunneries. One of the most sacred and esteemed of these establishments was Holy-Cross Abbey in Tipperary. It was founded for monks of the Cistercian order, in honour of the Holy Cross of St. Mary and St. Benedict. It stood on the right bank of the Suir, about three miles from Thurles, and near it a village. It was named the Abbey of the Holy Cross, from a fragment of the true cross which Pope Pascal II. sent to Murtough, King of Ireland, in 1110. The abbey, however, was not founded till 1182, by Donogh Carbragh O'Brien, King of Limerick. The founder conferred on it extensive lands, and Gregory was its first abbot. It received further endowments and privileges from Kings John, Henry III., Richard II., the Earls of Ormond, and the Archbishop of Cashel."
Excerpt from "Holy-Cross Abbey", in
Ruined Abbeys and Castles of Great Britain and Ireland by William Howitt.
LL/51530
