Jun 25, 2012 - Jedpoint Abbey

It was a short drive on a sunny day (!) to |Thomastown, Ireland, for our guided tour of this quite-well preserved 1180 Cistercian Abbey. (These monks broke off from the Benedictine monks because they felt the B's were not strict and austere enough!) Our excellent guide did a marvelous job of describing the way the abbey was used, the routines and duties of the monks and the laymen who did most of the work around the abbey and grounds. Its cloister piers have more carvings than any other abbey in Ireland (knights, ladies, bishops, dragons,...