Hore Abbey (also Hoare Abbey, sometimes known as St Mary's) is a ruined Cistercian monastery near the Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland.

Hore Abbey
Mainistir Iubhair
Hore Abbey from the path towards it
Hore Abbey is located in Ireland
Hore Abbey
Location within Ireland
Monastery information
Other namesHoare Abbey
St Mary's
OrderCistercians
Established1270
Disestablished1540
DioceseCashel and Emly
People
Founder(s)Archbishop David Mac Cerbaill
Architecture
StatusInactive
Heritage designationNational Monument of Ireland (#127)
StyleCistercian
Site
LocationCashel, County Tipperary, Ireland
Coordinates52°31′03″N 7°54′00″W / 52.5175°N 7.9°W / 52.5175; -7.9
Public accessYes
Official nameHore Abbey
Reference no.127

'Hore' is thought to derive from 'iubhair' – yew tree. The former Benedictine abbey at Hore was given to the Cistercians by Archbishop David Mac Cerbaill (in 1270), who later entered the monastery, and was buried there in 1289. He endowed the Abbey generously with land, mills and other benefices previously belonging to the town. A story that is much cited by tour guides is that he evicted the Benedictines after a dream that they were about to kill him. This is unlikely to be true and probably arises from the Archbishop's 'interference' with the commerce of the city of Cashel. His disfavour of the established orders in Cashel certainly caused local resentment. He was resented by some of the townspeople, being considered too much in favour of the Irish by the more Anglicised. This is evident in the objection by the thirty-eight local brewers to the levy of two flagons out of every brewing and in the murder of two monks who were visiting the town. He was by all accounts an exceptionally quarrelsome man, who in his long career clashed with the Dean of Cashel, his fellow bishops and the Dublin administration.

The Hore Abbey ruins as seen from the Rock of Cashel nearby
Archway inside the ruins

Chronology

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Architecture

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Hore Abbey is distinctive among Irish Cistercian monasteries in that the cloister lies to the north. The siting of the Abbey, with the Rock of Cashel close by to the north, may explain this departure from the usual arrangement.

See also

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Sources

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  • Breen, Aidan "Mac Cerbaill (MacCarwell), David" Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography
  • Otway-Ruthven, A. J. A History of Medieval Ireland Barnes and Noble reissue New York 1993