Bective Abbey

Bective Abbey

Bective Abbey on the banks of the River Boyne was a Cistercian abbey founded in 1147 by Murchard O’Melaghlin, King of Meath as a 'daughter house' of Mellifont Abbey.

It was an abbey of importance as the Abbot was a spiritual lord and sat in the Parliament of the Pale.

In 1195 the headless body of Hugh de Lacy (the Anglo-Norman Lord of Meath who built Trim Castle) was reinterred at the Abbey, his head going to St. Thomas’ Abbey, Dublin (the head and body were later reunited and reinterred in St. Thomas’ in Dublin).

The community at Bective Abbey were Anglo-Norman. In 1386 men of Irish birth were effectively barred from entering the monastery. The cloister (a covered walkway for contemplation and prayer) and the domestic buildings where the monks lived and worked were rebuilt on a smaller scale in the 15th century. Two sections of this cloister walkway survive.

Bective & Boyne Valley Tour

This location features in the following tours

When you book with Boyne Valley Tours you will experience over 5,000 years of Irish Culture and History. Choose from our tours across the Boyne Valley as well as popular Wicklow Tours and Highlights.

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