Inch Abbey Walk & Talk

Inch Abbey Walk & Talk

Join the Historic Environment Division for an informative guided tour of Inch Abbey, led by an archaeologist from the State Care team.

Inch Abbey, a Cistercian abbey located on the north bank of the River Quoile, is founded in the 1180s by John de Courcy as an act of penance for destroying the nearby Cistercian Erenagh Abbey. It stands on the site of an earlier Christian monastery, Inis Cumhscraigh, dating to around AD 800, and is re-established by Cistercian monks from Furness in Lancashire.

Most of the surviving buildings date from the 12th and 13th centuries, and the church predates nearby Grey Abbey, built around 1193. The abbey is burned in 1404, after which the church is reduced in size. It is adapted by enclosing the chancel and part of the nave and by closing off the transepts with a solid stone wall, creating a single rectangular structure while the remaining buildings are abandoned. The abbey is suppressed, and monastic life ends by 1542.

The site features gently undulating terrain. Access may be difficult for some wheelchair users beyond the main path leading from the car park to the ruins.

Practical information

General public (All Ages Welcome)

Duration: 1 hour

Free admission

Parking is available

Enquiries: scmenquiries@communities-ni.gov.uk