An evocative reminder of ecclesiastical times past, the weathered shell of Cong's 12th-century Augustinian abbey is scored by a crosshatch of lines from centuries of exposure to the elements. Nevertheless, several finely sculpted features have survived, including a carved doorway, windows and lovely medieval arches.
Founded in 1120 by Turlough Mór O'Connor, high king of Ireland and king of Connaught, the abbey occupies the site of an earlier 6th-century church. The community once gathered in the chapter house to confess their sins publicly.
From the abbey, moss-encrusted trees guard a path to the river and the diminutive 16th-century monk's fishing house , built midway over the river so that the monks could haul their catch straight up.
