Information about Kilconnel Abbey

Information from O'Donovan's Field Name Books

Standard Name:
Kilconnel Abbey
Irish Form of Name:
Cill Chonaill
Translation:
Conall’s Church
Civil Parish:
Kilconnell
View all place names in this civil parish.
Other Forms of the Name with authority source (if provided) in italics:
Kilconnel Abbey
Kilconnel Abbey
Description:
The magnificent Abbey is built on a beautifully elevated green field and is an oblong form, having on its North side a tower attached to it, which has winding stone stairs from the bottom to the top. The walls are nearly all standing and are beautifully ornamented inside by sculptured work, also three alters and several vaults are to be seen inside, it is said by antiquarians to be a very old building erected by a family of the name of Daly and is also said that both the town and Barony of Kilconnel derived their names from this building.
Situation:
This old abbey is situated in the centre of Abbeyfield townland North of Kilconnel Town about 6 chains and from Ballinasloe about 6 miles.

Information From Joyce's Place Names

Translation according to P. W. Joyce:
Kill alone is the name of more than a score of places in various counties: in most cases it stands for cill, a church: but in some it is for coill, a wood.

Townland Information

What is a townland?:
A townland is one of the smallest land divisions in Ireland. They range in size from a few acres to thousands of acres. Many are Gaelic in origin, but some came into existence after the Norman invasion of 1169
Townland:
Kilconnel Abbey is in Abbeyfield townland.

Information From Maps

Original OS maps at the Ordnance Survey of Ireland website.
(Click on place name to view original map in new window.)
This link is not a link to the townland that you are currently researching; however, if you follow this link, you will see a search box near the top of the page which you can use to search for your townland.
Having followed this link, you will see several expandable links - each link has a plus sign on its left - on the top left of the page. Expand 'Base Information and Mapping'. Now it is possible to select the maps that you wish to view by clicking on the checkbox that is on the left of each map; this list includes the original Ordnance Survey maps.
You can select more than one map and you can use a slider to make one map more transparent than another. This allows you to view what features were present or absent at different points in time.
(This map will display in a new window.)
Kilconnel Abbey
Information from the National Monuments Service.
(This information will display in a new window.):
You can use this link to view a map of archaelogical features.
This link brings you to a website wherein you will have to search for your townland.
Archaeological map from the National Monuments Service
If you notice any inaccuracies with any of the above, please e-mail us.
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