Kylemore Abbey – Connemara, Ireland - Atlas Obscura
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Kylemore Abbey

Connemara, Ireland

A stunning Victorian abbey and walled garden on a lakefront. 

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Kylemore Abbey on the lakefront. amelianotthepilot (Atlas Obscura User)
The walled Victorian garden
Kylemore abbey
Inside Kylemore Abbey, front view, September 2022.
Gothic chapel built in memory of Margaret Henry. hangingfire (Atlas Obscura User)
Shamrock carving detail from the Gothic chapel. hangingfire (Atlas Obscura User)
Tomb of Margaret Henry at Kylemore abbey
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Formerly a school and a palatial private estate, Kylemore Abbey sits at the base of a steep hill with the mountain-backdropped Pollacappul Lake as its front yard. Down the road from it is the estate’s huge, beautiful Victorian walled garden. The dramatic landscape makes the abbey a magical place to drive by, and it’s also well worth stopping in for a visit.

The abbey was originally built in the 19th century as a residence by the Henry family. It was later sold to the Duke of Manchester, then to a banker, and then it became home to an order of Benedictine nuns who fled the Continent in World War I. In 1923, it became Kylemore Abbey School, and ran as such until 2010. Since then it’s been a tourist attraction and is used by the University of Notre Dame and the Connemara Maths Academy.

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