The Black Abbey of Kilkenny, (an Mhainistir Dhubh in irish), Ireland, is a Catholic priory of the Dominican Order, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

The Dominicans established the priory between those two towns and outside the city walls because they wished to show their independence from either side.

[2] In 1558, Ireland was under the rule of Elizabeth I of England, a Protestant queen, and the property of the priory was confiscated by the crown.

Elizabeth died in 1603, but the policies of the new Protestant King, James I, did not change: the priory became a courthouse, and the Dominicans were forced to leave and find places to stay in other houses.

In 1816, Black Abbey was restored as a Dominican priory, and the first public mass was held on 25 September 1816.

On Trinity Sunday, 22 May 1864, Black Abbey was reconsecrated by the bishop, and was finally opened again as a house of prayer.

Black Abbey followed this plan: The original choir fell into ruin, and at the end of the 18th century, the stones were used to construct two-storey living quarters for the Dominican friars.