Jerpoint Abbey

Jerpoint Abbey is one of the best-preserved Cistercian monasteries in Ireland, founded in the second half of the 12th century — affiliated to the Cistercian order by 1180 — under the patronage of the Mac Gilla Pátraic (Fitzpatrick) kings of Osraige. It stands in the valley of the River Nore near Thomastown in County Kilkenny and functioned for nearly four centuries until the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII in 1540.

The abbey's great treasure is its cloister: a 15th-century arcade whose pillars are carved with an extraordinary cast of figures — armoured knights, bishops and abbots, courtly ladies, dragons and beasts, even a figure clutching his stomach. Decorative carving of this kind broke the austere Cistercian rule against ornament, which makes Jerpoint's cloister as unusual as it is beautiful. The church keeps its Romanesque chancel, a battlemented 15th-century crossing tower, and a remarkable set of carved tomb effigies, including the "weepers" — small mourning figures ranged along the sides of the tombs.

A guided tour is included with admission and brings the carvings to life: many of the best details are easy to walk straight past on your own. Jerpoint is about 2 km southwest of Thomastown, a medieval Norman town on the Nore. The separate, privately run Jerpoint Park nearby preserves the deserted medieval village of Newtown Jerpoint and the church of St Nicholas. Kilkenny city — with its castle and Medieval Mile — is 20 km north.