The monastery was founded in 600 by St. Caillín, a disciple of St. Colmcille, on a land granted by the Chief of Breffni. The monastery was assaulted and destroyed in 1244, but it was rebuilt in the following century. The church is said to have one of the finest east windows in all Ireland, dated from the 14th century. The abbey was also used for Protestant worship until the present Protestant church was built at the end of the 18th century. The monastery was in use until 1590. About 150 metres northeast from the church there's another ruined building that probably was the residential accomodation for the priests of the abbey.
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