Athenry News & Views Summer 2026

Summer 2026

1551 onwards. However, as late as 1576/7, Rory and Donal O’Mulkerrill, described as priests, were recorded as being in occupation of the friary, the last time that members of this local coarbial family are mentioned in connection with church affairs or property in the Clonkeenkerrill area. For an insightful account of the architecture of Saint Kerrill’s Abbey, please see ‘Clonkeenkerrill Abbey and its architecture’ by Dr Jim Higgins, in Joseph Mannion, The life, legends and legacy of Saint Kerrill (Galway 2004), pp149 54” The surviving ruins of St. Kerrill’s Abbey consisted of the fragmentary remains of a rectangular church completely covered with an ivy south transept, containing some interesting monuments in the form of partially hidden wall memorials & tombs, internally and externally due to a large burden of vegetation. For many years, the late John Joe Ward, who served as cemetery caretaker for 60 years, undertook the arduous task of maintaining the Abbey almost single-handedly. Armed only with a triple-extension ladder & manual hedge clippers, he painstakingly scaled the ivy covered walls & carefully trimmed back the vegetation that threatened to engulf the ruins. His dedication, courage & commitment ensured that much of the Abbey’s beauty remained visible during a time when little specialist conservation work was available. As age & ill health eventually limited John Joe’s ability to continue this demanding work, the strong community spirit for which Gurteen is renowned came to the fore. Local community leaders Pat Roberts & Odie Cunniffe, both longstanding advocates for preserving & enhancing the area’s heritage, organised a team of volunteers to continue the task. Their vision was simple: to ensure that St Kerrill’s Abbey would be protected & appreciated by future generations. Under their guidance, large quantities of ivy & overgrowth were removed, which revealed architectural

features which had been hidden for decades & allowed a partial assessment of the condition of the structure & further professional analysis of the Abbey ruins. It soon became clear that while the Abbey remained majestic, many of its walls were vulnerable & at risk of further deterioration or collapse without specialist intervention. Local residents were only too aware of the vulnerability of the Abbey. A severe storm in 1983 caused the collapse of the east gable of the chancel, which subsequently required partial rebuilding, leaving piles of loose stone & rubble from the east window strewn in the adjoining field. There was a growing recognition within the community that action was needed to prevent a similar fate befalling the iconic south gable window. In response, local community activist Pat Roberts initiated the preparation of a Conservation Management Plan in February 2022. The plan provided a comprehensive roadmap for the conservation, repair & long-term preservation of St. Kerrill’s Abbey, marking the beginning of an ambitious multi phase restoration project. The first phase of work began in October 2022 by removing the ivy from the south gable with its iconic window and the eastern wall. Following this, the walls required deep repointing due to significant

mortar loss and deep pinning. The south gable window was made stable by careful removal & re-setting of upper sections of the tracery. Stitching with stainless steel pins & epoxy resin was required to seal the cracks while only a single section of new stone was required to the tracery window. In addition, the beautifully shaped stones from the fallen eastern gable were used to repair damaged sections of the Abbey. This body of work was undertaken by Stankard Stone along with a team of stone masons. Phase 2 of the Conservation management plan set out the remaining specialist repairs required to all other walls of the Abbey ruins which also included the Burke Tomb & Cunniffe tomb. This included specialist masonry repairs to walls which were in poor condition or unstable. Also included was the stabilisation & repair of the surviving window to the chancel while salvaged stone from the east window now strewn in the nearby field was used to consolidate loose masonry & voids. Some of this work was carried out under archaeological supervision while plant growth around the Abbey structure & ground cover vegetation was cleared by hand. Particular care was taken not to damage fragile stone during the removal of the ivy & great care was taken to rake out loose mortar & repoint with

Cloonkeenkerrill Abbey following restoration

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