One of Ireland’s finest Cistercian ruins, Jerpoint Abbey was established in the 12th century, with the tower and cloister dating from late 14th or early 15th century. It is famous for its unusually large number of medieval stone carvings – look for the series of unusual and often amusing figures, both human and animal, carved on the pillars around the cloister. The abbey enjoys a lovely rural setting about 2.5km southwest of Thomastown on the N9.
Faint traces of a 15th- or 16th-century painting remain on the northern wall of the church. This chancel area also contains a tomb thought to belong to hardheaded Felix O’Dulany, Jerpoint’s first abbot and bishop of Ossory, who died in 1202.
