This Benedectine priory was built in 1180 by Hugh De Lacy (the same of Trim castle) on the marsh opposite the hillside and was dedicated to St. Feichin and St. Taurin. The priory had a parent priory in Normandy, where the Benedectine monks came from, and due to this relationship Fore was often seized by the English when England was at war with France.
The priory was built in a defensive style, with two fortified towers at two corners.
Inside the priory there's a small cloister in complete ruins, only its east section still retains some of the columns.
The chancel is north of the cloister and has three rounded windows. The domestic buildings were mostly at the southeast of the complex.
To the northeast of the cathedral is a dovecot, a place where pigeons were kept as a source of food for the community.
The ruins at Fore are the only remnants of a Benedictine priory in Ireland.
Local people know the place as the Seven Wonders of Fore, they are:
The Monastery built upon a marsh.
The Mill without a race.
The water that flows uphill
The tree that has three branches that won't burn.
The water that won't boil
The Anchorite in a cell.
The Lintel-stone raised by the prayers of St Fechin.
The first time we came here was on June 15th, 2001.
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