According to our notes, at this place we should have found a high cross. I asked a local woman, but she replied that she didn't know of any cross in the area.
This at Shrule was a Cistercian Abbey built in 1150 on the ruins of a former abbey that was founded probably in the 9th or 10th century.
This abbey once was one of the few abbeys in Ireland to comply with the strict Cistercian code, and in 1215 it was given authority over the Boyle abbey who was in trouble at that time.
This was also one of the three abbeys in Ireland to be allowed to use Irish language during the liturgies.
According to the Annals, the abbey was first sacked and burnt down by the English Forces in 1476, then it was sacked again in 1550 by Hugh Roe O'Donnell.
It was eventually abandoned after the dissolution of the monasteries and the religious orders by Henry VIII.
What remains today are the external walls that give us an outline of the plan of the building, that is 22 metres long and about 8 metres wide. Its chancel faces east (100°).
The building is unsafe and the signs warn visitors to keep away from the structure.
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