Abbeydorney

Mainistir Ó dTorna

Cistercian Abbey

In 1154, the Cistercians founded the Abbey of Saint Mary De Kyrie Eleison at Abbeydorney. It was their only foundation in Kerry. In 1819 Father Owen MacCarthy began building a church in the village of Abbeydorney. Regretfully he demolished part of the old Cistercian Abbey to provide materials for the new church. The Crosbie family owned the ruins at this time. The Abbey was further destroyed when stones were removed for the building of family tombs in the village Cemetery.

The Old Forge

More than any other town or village in Kerry, Abbeydorney is steeped in ploughing history and tradition, with no less than 16 All-Ireland titles being won by natives of the area between 1941 and 1977. To mark the millenium and the memory of all the ploughman and women who brought many All-Ireland medals to the village, the Old Forge was restored and a plaque laid in 2000.