Mellifont Abbey
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Mellifont Abbey (Irish: An Mhainistir Mhór, literally "the big abbey") was the first Cistercian abbey to be built in Ireland, County Louth.
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[edit] Origins
Founded in 1142 on the orders of Saint Malachy (the Archbishop of Armagh), the Abbey sat on the banks of the River Mattock, some 10 km (6 miles) from Drogheda.
Mellifont Abbey became the model for other Cistercian abbeys built in Ireland, with its formal style of architecture imported from the abbeys of the same order in Europe, and was the main abbey in Ireland until it was closed in 1539, when it became a fortified house.
[edit] The Synod of 1154
An important synod was held in Mellifont in 1152 as recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters. This synod was attended by Bishops and Kings along with the Papal Legate John Paparo (Saint Malachy having died some ten years beforehand). The consecration of the Church took place in 1157 and asserted Church authority by banishing the King of Meath, Donnchadh Ua Maeleachlainn. Various Kings gave donations to assist this foundation. Muirchertach Ua Lochlainn, provincial king of Ulster gave cattle, some gold also a local town land, Donnchad Ua Cearbhall, the king of Airgialla, and who had donated the land, also gave gold while Derbforgaill, the wife of Tigernan Ua Ruairc gave gold, a chalice and altar cloths.
[edit] The Abbey since closure
William of Orange used Mellifont Abbey as his headquarters during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Mellifont Abbey is now a ruin. Little of the original Abbey remains, save a 13th-century lavabo (where the monks washed their hands before eating), some Romanesque arches and a 14th-century chapter house.
