Boyle Abbey (Mainistir na Búille)

A remarkably complete Cistercian abbey in the town of Boyle.

Founded in 1161, Boyle Abbey is one of Ireland's best-preserved Cistercian monasteries, its church blending rounded Romanesque and pointed Gothic arches. It sits at the foot of the Curlew Mountains near Lough Key.

At a glance

• Cistercian abbey founded 1161
• Mix of Romanesque and Gothic arches
• Near Lough Key and the Curlews

In County Roscommon

Boyle Abbey is in County Roscommon, Ros Comáin in Irish, which means “St Comán's wood”.

More in Roscommon

• Rathcroghan (Ráth Cruachan): The ancient royal capital of Connacht and the seat of the legendary Queen Medb.
• Lough Key (Loch Cé): A wooded lake of islands, castles and a forest park.

Other places of this kind

• The Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair): Sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region.
• Newgrange (Sí an Bhrú): A prehistoric monument in County Meath, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
• The Giant's Causeway (Clochán an Aifir): Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, a UNESCO site wrapped in the legend of Finn McCool.
• Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch): A beautiful glacial valley of two lakes, home to one of Ireland's most important early monastic settlements.
• The Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig): A dramatic outcrop crowned with medieval buildings, once the seat of the kings of Munster.
• Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis): A great early monastery on the banks of the Shannon, once a renowned centre of learning.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Boyle Abbey is Mainistir na Búille. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.