Ecclesiastical enclosure

Kilbennan Monastery

Cill Bheanáin

Early Christian monastic site with ruins of a round tower and a medieval church, founded by St. Benen, a disciple of St. Patrick, in the 5th century.

AccessNot confirmed
National MonumentIn State care
1428In the record
Folklore1 quote
PhotoWikimedia Commons

Ballygaddy,Pollacorragune,Tonlegee (Dunmore By.), Co. Galway53.53892, -8.89207

Directions Map

Unofficial guide. Not the National Monuments Service, the OPW, Fáilte Ireland or the landowner. Disclaimer

At a glance

TypeEcclesiastical enclosure
Date or period mentioned1428
Condition (as surveyed)Gone: no visible trace
StatusNational Monument

What to look for

Tower
Graveyard

Picked out from the Archaeological Survey description below.

Can you visit?

No source says it is open to the public.Most monuments in Ireland stand on private farmland.
Ask the landowner before crossing fields, close gates, leave the stones as you find them.Visiting responsibly

History and description

At N end of a house cluster in rolling grassland overlooking bogland to SW. Known locally as 'Kilbenan', this Nat. Mon. is the site of an early monastery founded by St Benen or Benignus.

Full archaeological record 153 words

At N end of a house cluster in rolling grassland overlooking bogland to SW. Known locally as 'Kilbenan', this Nat. Mon. is the site of an early monastery founded by St Benen or Benignus. A disciple of St Patrick (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 388), he is reputed to have been granted 'the fortress of Dun Lughaid' for the purpose by a local chieftain (Leask 1977, 13). According to Harbison (1975, 93-4), 'the Franciscan founded a monastery here in 1428'. The visible remains comprise a church (GA029-017002-) and round tower (GA029-017001-), both of which stand in a small irregularly shaped graveyard (GA029-017003-). A holy well (GA029-131----) lies 110m to NW and a cairn (GA029-137----) 150m to NNE. The gently curving td. boundary to W of the church may mark the line of a possible early ecclesiastical enclosure. (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 11-12, 92-6; Killanin 1951, 121; Killanin and Duignan 1967, 448; CUCAP ATF 47)

Archaeological Survey of Ireland, National Monuments Service (CC BY 4.0) · Updated 05 August 2010 · Based on the Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling. It describes the site as it was when surveyed.

Folklore and traditions

A disciple of St Patrick (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 388), he is reputed to have been granted 'the fortress of Dun Lughaid' for the purpose by a local chieftain (Leask 1977, 13).

As recorded by the Archaeological Survey · a tradition, not a fact

Beliefs and sayings St Patrick