Old Mellifont Abbey | Discover Boyne Valley Meath, Ireland

Old Mellifont Abbey

  • Opening Hours
  • Site open all year round.

    Access to Visitor Centre and guided tours: 25 May – 03 September 2023 only Daily 10:00 – 17:00

    Last admission 45 minutes before closing

    Average Length of Visit: 1 hour

    Notice
    This site is fully accessible for visitors with disabilities.

  • Admission Costs
  • Grounds only: Free entry

    Access to exhibition in the Visitor Centre and guided tour:
    Adult: €5.00
    Group/Senior: €4.00
    Child(12-17)/Student: €3.00
    Family: €13.00

  • Directions
  • View location on Google Maps here 

    Tullyallen
    Drogheda
    Co. Louth

    A92 K682.

    10km north-west of Drogheda off the R168 (Drogheda-Collon Road)

     

  • Tullyallen, Drogheda, Co. Louth
    Telephone No:
    Summer phoneline: +353 41 982 6459
    Outside the above period please contact Brú na Bóinne +353 41 988 0300

     

  • Region: Drogheda , Slane ,
  • Drogheda
  • mellifontabbey@opw.ie
  • Old Mellifont Abbey OPW website
  • Facebook

Mellifont Abbey was the first Cistercian monastery in Ireland. St Malachy of Armagh created it in 1142 with the help of a small number of monks sent by St Bernard from Clairvaux. The monks did not take well to Ireland and soon returned to France, but the abbey was completed anyway and duly consecrated with great pomp.

The abbey imported it's formal style of architecture from the abbeys of the same order in Europe.  It has several extraordinary architectural features, the foremost of which is the two-storey octagonal lavabo. The abbey imported it's formal style of architecture from the abbeys of the same order in Europe. The abbey was consecrated in 1157 and from this humble beginnings the Cistercian community spread out throughout Ireland founding other abbeys throughout the country with Mellifont being the model on which these abbeys were based. The most significant remains of Mellifont Abbey is the chapter house, the Lavabo where the monks would have washed their hands before meals and the impressive Gateway. The other parts of the Abbey are gone but small walls remain making it possible to make out how the Abbey would have looked.

The monks at Mellifont hosted a critical synod in 1152. The abbey was central to the history of later centuries, too, even though it was in private hands by then. The Treaty of Mellifont, which ended the Nine Years War, was signed here in 1603, and William of Orange used the abbey as his headquarters during the momentous Battle of the Boyne.

 

 The Visitor Centre houses an interesting exhibition on the work of masons in the Middle Ages with fine examples of their craft on display. Access to site by stone stairway. The site is now fully accessible.

  • Guided tours are also available fin the summer months.
  • See website and social media for up-to-date information

Did you know? By 1170, Mellifont had one hundred monks and three hundred lay brothers. The Abbey became the model for other Cistercian abbeys. It was the main abbey in Ireland until it was closed in 1539, when it became a fortified house.

Listen to some wonderful audio on Old Mellifont Abbey - part of the Boyne Valley Drive:

For more on what Mellifont and nearby Drogheda has to offer, watch the video below.

Fact

Devorgilla (often described as ‘Ireland’s Helen of Troy’), whose elopement with Dermot MacMurrough led to the arrival of the Anglo Normals in 1169 is buried beneath the chancel pavement at Mellifont.

 

Other Information

Bus Route(s): Contact Bus Eireann, Travel Centre +353 1 836 6111

Recommended Clothing: Visitors are advised to wear suitable footwear due to uneven terrain.

Guided Tours Available: On request, maximum number is thirty five to forty. Duration is forty minsutes. Leaflet / guide booklet in English, Irish, French, German, Italian and Spanish

The site of Old Mellifont Abbey is now FULLY accessible.

Disabled Access: Access for people with disabilities to the visitor centre

Heritage Categories
Town
Email Address
mellifontabbey@opw.ie
Address

Tullyallen, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Telephone No:
Summer phoneline: +353 41 982 6459
Outside the above period please contact Brú na Bóinne +353 41 988 0300

 

Directions

View location on Google Maps here 

Tullyallen
Drogheda
Co. Louth

A92 K682.

10km north-west of Drogheda off the R168 (Drogheda-Collon Road)

 

Opening Hours

Site open all year round.

Access to Visitor Centre and guided tours: 25 May – 03 September 2023 only Daily 10:00 – 17:00

Last admission 45 minutes before closing

Average Length of Visit: 1 hour

Notice
This site is fully accessible for visitors with disabilities.

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/oldmellifontabbey
Admission Costs

Grounds only: Free entry

Access to exhibition in the Visitor Centre and guided tour:
Adult: €5.00
Group/Senior: €4.00
Child(12-17)/Student: €3.00
Family: €13.00

Latitude
53.7428
Longitude
-6.46587
Region
Images
Facebook
GPS: 53.7428, -6.46587

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