Trinitarian Abbey, Adare, Co. Limerick, Éire

This is the tower of the church where my parents got married and remains a Roman Catholic parish church today though this was part of a monastery as the name suggests. Because of family connections, it also is the only church in Adare that I have visited and its wonderful interior. The abbey was founded in the thirteenth century, but its buildings fell into disuse until the nineteenth century because of the dissolution of monasteries during the sixteenth century. It is the restoration of the church for Catholic mass and other services that ensures that building is preserved for us now.

Adare once was home to three monasteries: Trinitarian, Augustinian and Franciscan. Only the last of these is out of use and remains a picturesque ruin by the River Maigue much as its counterpart across the N21 remains well-preserved and in use as a Church of Ireland place of worship. These are not the only things in Adare that draw tourists for the village is a pretty one centred around Adare Manor, now an upmarket hotel. All that is enough for me to want to spend some time around there capturing more photos than the two that you currently see in the album.