Dunbrody Abbey

Dunbrody Abbey (Irish: Mainistir Dhún Bróithe) is a former Cistercian monastery in County Wexford, Ireland.

The visitor centre is run by the current Marquess of Donegall and has one of only two full sized hedge mazes in Ireland.

The middle of the 13th century was a boom period for the Anglo-Norman colony in Ireland and the Cistercian order shared in this prosperity.

Following his split with the Church of Rome, Henry VIII issued the Dissolution of the Monasteries through a series of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541.

[4] Owing to the neglect of the private owners of Dunbrody, a massive collapse occurred on Christmas Eve 1852, destroying the south wall of the church and some of the monastery.

The church is in the form of a cross on plan, as is usual in Cistercian Abbeys, and has a nave, side aisles, north and south transepts, and choir.

[5] In the southern range of buildings there is evidence of the position of the refectory by the indication of the reader's desk at one of the windows in south side wall.

[5] Osborne Ichyngham's great-great-grandson, John, built Dunbrody Castle, a fortified house, but it was never fully completed.

The premises has a visitor centre opened by the Earl of Belfast, with brochures from area tourist attractions and services, and a craft shop.

The abbey in the 1840s
Floor plan of the abbey.
Dunbrody Abbey, County Wexford
Nave, south aisle and base of bell tower