Glenstal Abbey

A few weeks ago, I took a bus from Ballinasloe to Galway, another bus from Galway to Limerick, and a taxi from Limerick to Glenstal Abbey in Murroe.

The abbey is on about 500 acres, and includes the monastery, a boarding school, a farm, and a dairy herd. It was founded from Maredsous Abbey in Belgium in 1927, and is located in what was the Barrington estate, an 1839 castle designed to look as if it had been built in the Middle Ages.

Depending on the day, you may be greeted as you drive or walk in by the herd of dairy cows. It is a fifteen-minute walk from the front gate to the monastery.

The monastic office uses mostly Gregorian chant, and some of the offices each day are in Latin.

The area is great for walking. There are a number of paths through the woods. The monastic cemetery is down one path.

Glenstal founded a monastery in Africa, now an independent house. Two of the monks are buried there, but they are commemorated in the cemetery at Glenstal.

There is also a Mass rock on the property, in what is called Cappercullen Glen. It dates to penal times, when it was illegal to practice the Catholic faith in Ireland. Sentries would be posted up above, to warn those down below if the authorities were coming.

The approach to the Mass Rock

The Mass Rock from the rear

During penal times, the rock woud have been unadorned. The altar and any other items needed would have been set up for Mass, and taken down immediately after Mass was over. In more recent times, a permanent altar has been installed, and panels from the ruins of the old Cistercian monastery have been incorporated.