St Mullins Monastery

St. Moling, who in his time served as Bishop of Ferns and Glendalough and led a life of many documented miracles, established this monastic community in 696.

In the graveyard near the abbey, the Kings of South Leinster, the Mc Murrough Kavanaghs, are buried along with St Moling and General Thomas Clovey, a leader of the 1798 insurrection. A manuscript from the 8th century known as “The Book of Mulling” shows a plan for the monastery enclosing four crosses inside its protective wall and placing eight on the outside. It is the oldest existing document showing the architectural design of a monastery.

An important underpinning of Christianity in County Carlow, the monastery was ravaged by Viking invaders in 951 and again by fire in 1138. The current abbey was built sometime in the Middle Ages and contains an 18th century penal altar used during the era of anti-Catholic law.

The medieval church features an exceptional spiral staircase along with nave and chancel architecture. Nearby, a High Cross depicts the Crucifixion on its east face and is decorated with various period motifs on its other faces. The remains of a round tower and a small oratory known as St. James’s Chapel are also on the grounds.

St. Mullins became a borough around the year 1200, and that designation gave the burgesses who lived in the area property transfer rights that were unavailable to urban dwellers. Over the years, it did not expand and prosper as much as other boroughs.