Muckross Abbey
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Muckross Abbey (Irish: Mainistir Locha Léin and Mainistir Mhucrois) is one of the major ecclesiastical sites found in the Killarney National Park, County Kerry, Ireland. It was founded in 1448 as a Franciscan friary for the Observantine Franciscans by Donal McCarthy Mor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
It has had a violent history and has been damaged and reconstructed many times. The friars were often subjected to raids by marauding groupsTemplate:Who and were persecuted by Cromwellian forces under Lord Ludlow.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Today the abbey is largely roofless, but is otherwise generally quite well-preserved with safe stairways providing access to the upper storey.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its most striking feature is a central courtyard, which contains a large yew tree and is surrounded by a vaulted cloister.<ref>Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume 2. 1892.</ref>
In the 17th and 18th centuries, it became the burial place for prominent County Kerry poets O'Donoghue, Ó Rathaille and Ó Súilleabháin, while Piaras Feiritéar is buried in the graveyard just outside.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Gallery
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The Friary
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Abbey and graveyard seen from the west
