Kylemore Abbey

The Benedictine Nuns of Ypres were established in the wake of the Reformation, when British and Irish Catholics began to found religious houses abroad to escape persecution at home. This convent had long established connections with Ireland. Indeed when they were founded in the 17th century, many wealthy Irish families sent their daughters to be educated at the convent. The convent became known as ‘The Irish Dames of Ypres’.

At the request of King James II the nuns moved to Dublin in 1688. However, they returned to Ypres following James’s defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. There they stayed until war once again disturbed their peace. The community of Benedictine Nuns fled Ypres when their convent was shelled. They managed to take safe passage to England with the help of the Red Cross, and from there to Wexford. They purchased Kylemore Castle and 10,000 acres for £45,000 in 1920.

At Kylemore, the nuns reopened their international boarding school and established a day school for local girls. This boarding school closed as recently as 2010, and since then the nuns have developed new educational and spiritual retreats in this serene and beautiful valley.

One of the interesting items that they brought with them, was the Flag of Ramillies. The flag had been gifted to the nuns by Lieutenant-Colonel Murrough O’Brien of the Irish Brigade. This was a brigade in the French Army made up of Irish soldiers who had left Ireland after the defeat of James II in the Williamite Wars of the late 17th century. The Irish Brigade played a prominent role in the Battle of Ramillies, where they captured the English Army banner. The banner was brought to Ireland by the nuns when they arrived here in 1920.

In 1959, the West Wing of Kylemore Abbey was engulfed in flames. Though all the nuns and their pupils managed to safely evacuate, the fire did terrible damage. Some of the nuns braved the flames to rescue some of the archival documents and artefacts, such as the Flag of Ramilles, lace made by Mary Queen of Scots, a portrait of James II and the broken altar stone from the abbey at Ypres.

After his wife Margaret’s tragic death, Mitchell Henry commissioned the construction of this beautiful neo-gothic church in her memory. It has been described as a ‘cathedral in miniature’, as it features finely-cut imported sandstone from Caen, a beautiful stained-glass window depicting the five graces (Faith, Fortitude, Chastity, Charity and Hope), sculptures of angels, and elegant marble columns. The marble columns are sourced from the four provinces of Ireland. Green from the local Connemara marble quarry representing Connacht, reddish-pink from Cork representing Munster, black from Kilkenny representing Leinster, and grey from Armagh representing Ulster. For many years, the church was in a perilous state from water-ingress, causing damp and structural issues. An extensive programme of conservation and restoration began from 1992, led by the Benedictine Community with the support of the Heritage Council and fund raising from past pupils of Kylemore. These restoration works found an unexpected challenge, when it became clear the roof of the church served a new congregation – the largest colony of Natterer’s bats in Ireland. The works were able to continue without any disturbance to the colony, that continue to live and thrive in the church. Today the church is an atmospheric and serene place to enjoy, that occasionally hosts events and musical performances.

Margaret’s remains were interred in the small mausoleum in a wooded glade, close to the church. In contrast to the church, it is architecturally more simple, mainly formed from a brick vault. In accordance with his wishes, following his death in London in 1910, Mitchell was interred here alongside his great love Margaret.

When the house was being constructed, work also began to establish the extensive gardens. The gardens functioned as both a lovely place to walk and enjoy, and as a supply of herbs, fruit and vegetables for the kitchens. Mitchell Henry was equally as ostentatious with his investment in the gardens as he was the house. He employed a leading head gardener, who supervised a team of 40 gardeners and groundskeepers. They established an extensive walled garden with 4 metre high walls.

Kylemore Abbey Gardens once boasted 21 heated glass houses. They were timber framed, and heated by an ingenious network of cast-iron pipes that carried hot water from underground boilers. This allowed the gardeners to grow exotic plants and fruit. The different glass houses included vinerys for grapes, a banana house, a peach house, a melonry, nectarines and a fig house, not the usual type of fare that you might expect on a 19th century Connemara table! After Mitchell Henry left Kylemore, the glass houses fell into disrepair, as the Duke of Manchester could not afford the lavish funds for staff to keep the gardens in the same conditions. Today just two of the 21 glass houses have been restored, and the foundations of others can be seen giving an impression of the extensive network that must have offered a warm and sheltered walk during wet or wintery weather. The restoration works are a constant work in progress, having begun in earnest in 1995, guided by an expert team of architects, garden archaeologists and historic garden specialists. Their work, and the ongoing curation by the current head gardener and their team, means that Kylemore Abbey’s Gardens remain a lovely place to enjoy today.