Mellifont

Mellifont Abby was the first Cistercian Monastery to be built in Ireland. It was founded by St. Malachy of Armagh in 1142 and is located at a scenic nook on the Mattock River. It flourished until the sixteenth century when all Irish monasteries were suppressed under orders of Henry VIII. In 1566, Edward Moore converted the Abbey into a fortress and the church into a house. Hugh O'Neill finally surrendered to Lord Mountjoy here in 1602. The remains of the chapter house and the octagonal lavabo still stand to this day and visitors can also see the foundations of the Old Monastery.