Abbeylands

8 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Abbeylands, from 634 m² to 89,889 m² (8.99 ha, 22.21 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 8 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, or as GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Abbeylands in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

No planning application touches the townland of Abbeylands in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

• Special Area of Conservation: Killala Bay/Moy Estuary SAC 000458
• Special Protection Area: Killala Bay/Moy Estuary SPA 004036
• Proposed Natural Heritage Area: Killala Bay/Moy Estuary 000458

Recorded monuments

• MA022-024001 Religious house - Franciscan friars
  Description

  Located on the western shores of Killala Bay, close to the mouth of the River Moy. Situated immediately to S of a hill, on a low lying ground which slopes down gently towards the shore 100m to E. Killala is 3km to NW, and Rosserk Fransican friary (MA022-082----) is 5km to SE on the banks of the River Moy. Moyne Franciscan friary was established c. 1455 as an Observant friary, and was under the authority of a Conventual Minister Provincial of the order until 1460, when Irish friaries received papal authorisation to follow the Observant reform under their own vicar provincial. It may have been one of the friaries established following papal permission in 1450 to establish Observant houses in the dioceses of Killala, Achonry and Elphin (Mooney 1958, 43). The church was consecrated in 1462 by Donatus O’Connor, Bishop of Killala (O’Hara 1898, 260). The friary was probably established under the patronage of the Mac William Burkes, lords of Lower Connacht, and the friars also benefitted over the centuries from the patronage of local merchants. Provincial chapters of the Irish Franciscan Observants took place in Moyne in 1464, 1498, 1504, 1512, 1541 and 1550. After the Dissolution, the friars were able to stay in Moyne under the protection of the Mac William Burkes, but still suffered violent English attacks in 1579 and 1582. In 1590 the friary was burnt by Sir Richard Bingham, governor of Connacht, and five years later the property was granted to Edward Barrett. By 1616, it was occupied by an English widow who rented the church and a few rooms to the six remaining friars (Mooney 1958, 45-51). Moyne friary is a National Monument in state ownership (no. 103). It is amongst the best-preserved mendicant friary in Ireland, allowing visitors to get a really good sense of the life of a religious community in the late Middle Ages. It is similar in plan to another impressive surviving Franciscan friary, Ross Errily (GA041-047----), Co. Galway. The austere, undecorated architectural style may be seen as an embodiment of the mendicant ethos of poverty espoused by the friars of the Observant reform. Remains are comprised of a long rectangular nave and chancel church, with a central tower, a large lateral aisle, and a chapel or transept to S of the nave, and another chapel to S of the chancel; located immediately N of the church is the cloister arcade, enclosed at E, N and W by three ranges of domestic buildings. An 18th-century house (MA022-024002-) is appended to the E range. Unusually, the domestic ranges were built directly above a steam, which flows W towards the bay; it provided water for the friars’ daily activities and helped dispose of waste and sewage (Mooney 1958, 46). The remains of a mill are on the stream to the E of the friary. A subrectangular walled precinct (MA022-024009-) encloses the main complex, and a possible hospital (MA022-024005-) is located c. 70m to E. The nave (int. 18.05m E–W; 6.05m N–S) is accessed by a doorway in the W gable. The doorway is a round-headed 17th-century insertion, with a projecting moulded hood. Above the doorway is a triple-light window, each light round-headed under a pointed arch with switchline tracery. Along the S side of the nave is an unusually wide lateral aisle (12.95m E–W; 7.30m N–S) with a chapel or transept (int. 11.25m N–S; 6.80m E–W) at its E end, very similar to the chapel at nearby Rosserk friary (MA022-082001-). The nave is separated from the lateral aisle and S chapel by an arcade of four rounded arches resting on large octagonal pillars with moulded capitals and bases. Two similar arches stand between the lateral aisle and the chapel. The lateral aisle is lit by three graded, pointed lancets with chamfered mullions in the W wall and two round-headed double-lights in the S wall. In the E wall of the chapel/transept there are two round-headed altar recesses with piscina associated, and a small intervening room (int. 1.95m N–S; 1m E–W), which functioned as a sacristy to the two altars. Each of the alter recesses has a window: in the N recess, a trio of pointed lancets with chamfered mullions, and in the S recess, a smaller ogee-headed double-light. An elegant four-light window dominates the S wall of the chapel, each light round-headed under a pointed arch with switchline tracery and a quatrefoil in the central interlace. The masonry fabric of the lateral aisle and chapel is different to the rest of the nave, indicating a time lag in their construction, though it was likely short. A piecemeal approach to construction was characteristic of mendicant architecture in Ireland, as the friars were dependent on alms and donations from the laity to build their friaries, with elements such as side aisles and chapels, planned from the start, added only when sufficient funds had been secured. Wall plaster survives in areas, and in the W wall of the nave it preserves unique etchings of boats dating to 16th or 17th century (Macalister 1943, 107-17). Between the nave and chancel is a six-storey tower (ext. 4m E–W; 6.05m N–S), rectangular in plan, with two low, round-headed arches to the E and W and a barrel vault. String courses mark the different floors, and the tower is surmounted by assymetrical crenellations. The upper stories are accessed through a spiral stairs in the S wall. The tower is lit by simple round- or square-headed windows in each wall at first to fourth floor levels, with one ogee-headed window in the E wall at the second floor. In the S wall a pointed doorway, leading to the S chapel, is now blocked by an 18th-century grave slab. In the N wall, a pointed doorway leads to the cloister, and at first floor, a doorway opened to the gallery above the cloister ambulatory. The chancel (int. 14.95m E–W; 6.05m N–S) is graced in its E gable by a window of four round-headed lights with chamfered mullions under pointed arches, with switchline tracery and a quatrefoil between the central interlace. In the N wall there are two pointed doorways, with a holy water stoup between, both leading to the sacristy. There are two blocked windows in the N wall, and in the S wall are two round-headed lights under a pointed arch with switchline tracery, and two pairs of round-headed lancets. Under the eastern-most window in the S wall is a tomb niche. A large rectangular chapel (11.6m N–S; 4.95E–W) extends to S off the E end of chancel, unusual in a mendicant context. A piscina is built into the NW corner of the large square opening into the chapel. The window in the S wall of the chapel is a double light with switchline tracery, and in the E and W walls are pairs of round-headed lancets. The chapel is an addition, but the windows are similar in design to those of the chancel, suggesting a short time lag. There are several 18th-/19th-century graveslabs and headstones throughout the church; one graveslab (MA022-024004-), located in the NE corner of the chancel, may be 17th-century in date. A cloister of integrated type, whereby the upper floor of the ranges extends over the ambulatory or walkway, survives fully intact to the N of the church. The ambulatory (int. c. 14.50m E–W; c. 14.60m N–S) is barrel-vaulted on E, N and W sides, with the vault reinforced at each corner by three transverse arches. On the S side, the cloister walk had a lean-to roof, with a gallery above leading from the E range dormitory to the tower. The cloister arcade has pointed arches resting on large rectangular pillars with rounded edges, two of which at SW are of the more common dumbbell type. In the middle of the W, N and E sides of the cloister arcade are slim tapered buttresses. The cloister garth or courtyard (int. c. 9.60m E–W; 9.70m N–S) is accessed through a large rounded archway in the middle of the S ambulatory. The original two-story E range, with sacristy and chapter room at ground floor, and a dormitory above, was later extended to the N to accommodate a large refectory. The sacristy is accessed from the chancel through two pointed do

• MA022-024002 House - 18th century
  Description

  At Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-). This 18th-century house, oriented roughly NW–SE, is appended to the E domestic range of the 15th-century friary. The house dates to the secular occupation of the friary following the Dissolution, when the property had been confiscated by the English Crown, and was no longer in the ownership of the friars. Parts of the friary appear to have been converted to secular use at that time, such as the refectory, where an oven was inserted into the S end of the W wall, and the friary kitchen in the N range. O’Hara (1898, 262) states that the house was built by James Knox, but the exact date of construction is unknown. It is said to have been built using stones taken from ruined friary buildings. The house is a two storey building (14. 05m E–W; 5.30m N–S) of mortared stone, now roofless. The main entrance from the exterior was through a large doorway, centrally placed in the N wall; there is a tall cupboard recess immediately to E of it. In the W wall there is another doorway, flanked by two cupboard recesses, which opens into a corridor, connecting the house to the friary. The corridor is integrated on the N side to a narrow building, which was probably the friary garderobe, beneath which a stream flows; an opening, furnished with stone steps, in the N wall of the corridor allows access to the stream. The house was well lit by large windows. At ground floor level, two large, slightly arched windows flank the doorway in the N wall. In the S wall there are three rectangular windows, each with a stone mullion, and at the E end of that wall, a rectangular single light. The two central windows have interesting features on the internal face of the central mullions, which may have been part of a system of internal timber shutters: One mullion features a sort of stone hook that may have held the rod keeping the shutter closed, the other a stone ridge along the length of the mullion, with a hole in the centre, which again may have been for a rod to hold shutters in place. In the E gable, a central rectangular window with a mullion is flanked by two small cupboard recesses. The upper storey had timber flooring; the rebate and sockets for floor beams are visible in the S and N wall. Two fireplaces, one in the E and one in the W gable, suggest that the upper floor was divided into two rooms. The fireplace in the W room is more elaborate, with a projecting hood, carved with shallow wavy lines, resting on two corbels on either side. It is flanked by two cupboard recesses. To right of the fireplace, at the N end of the W wall, is a doorway that gives access to the upper floor of the garderobe/corridor building, leading to the friary. The upper storey rooms were also well lit: In the N wall there are three large windows, the frames and upper sections now missing, and in the S wall there are two large, slightly arched windows, without surviving mullions. Attached images: MA022-024002-_01 House –N façade, with main doorway. MA022-024002-_02 House –viewed from SE MA022-024002-_03 Interior –W gable, showing doorways at ground and first floor leading to the friary MA022-024002-_04 Corridor connecting house to friary, viewed from W MA022-024002-_05 Interior –E gable MA022-024002-_06 Detail of ground floor window, with shutter feature, in S wall Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye Date of upload: 15 June 2020

• MA022-024003 Building
  Description

  Located on the shoreline of Killala Bay, 140m E of Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-). A rectangular building, annotated ‘Ruin’, is depicted on the 1838 OS 6-inch maps, its long axis extending roughly NW−SE parallel to the shoreline; ‘Ruin’ is also indicated on the 1929 edition, but the building is no longer clearly delineated. The extant remains consist of a short broken length of mortared stone wall (L. c. 3m NNE−SSW; Wth 0.95m). It straddles the land-edge scarp (H c. 2m), extending on a NNE-SSW alignment perpendicular to the shoreline. The SSW two thirds of the wall stand in a pasture field, reaching a height of 2m, but the NNE end of the wall drops to the shoreline, giving it an overall height of c. 3m. The wall is thickly overgrown with ivy. A sod-covered mound (6m NW−SE; H 1m) of rubble and earth abuts the W face of the wall, perhaps incorporating collapsed remnants of other walls. The exact original form, function and date of this structure are unknown. Given its proximity to the monastery and its shoreline location, it is possible that it was used for the loading/ unloading and storage of goods transported by ships which plied trade routes and fisheries at sea and on the River Moy. Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 15 June 2020

• MA022-024004 Graveslab
  Description

  Set flat in the ground in the NE corner of the chancel of Moyne Franciscan friary church (MA022-024001-). This graveslab consists of a rectangular stone slab (L 1.50m; Wth 0.90m. Fig. 1) oriented E−W. At one end, it features a carving of a crest and escutcheon, with a coat of arms now too weathered to be identified, above which is a helmet. These are framed by swirls of foliage in high relief, with two tassels hanging on either side. No inscription or date can be identified, but the style is typical of the 17th century. Similar 17th century armorial stones are preserved in Sligo Dominican friary, for example (SL014-065008-). Although he does not give supporting evidence, O’Hara (1898, 261) suggested that this graveslab may have been dedicated to Sir George Boyle, cousin of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Richard Boyle had acquired the abbey lands from his brother in law and was still in possession of Moyne in 1641. Sir George was married to Una, daughter of Oliver Bourke of Iniscoe, and died in 1626. Attached images: MA022-024004-_01 Graveslab set in floor of chancel MA022-024004-_02 Detail of carving Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye Date of upload: 15 June 2020

• MA022-024005 Hospital
  Description

  In pasture, located 55m NE of Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-), towards the base of a steep S-facing slope, 15m N of the E−W stream flowing from the friary into Killala bay to E. The shoreline is 25m to E. Indicated simply as ‘Ruin’ on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps, located in the NW corner of a subrectangular enclosure (MA022-024006-), this building may have been built in the 15th or 16th century to serve as a hospital or infirmary for the friary. The stonework is plain and without definitively datable architectural features, but an infirmary located close to the shore is mentioned by the Franciscan historian Donatus Mooney in his early 17th-century account of Moyne; he described how at high tide large ships were able to come up as far as the infirmary (Mooney 1958-59, 47). O’ Hara (1898, 262) also mentions an infirmary with an enclosure along the course of the stream to E of the friary, and notes that it was ‘now known as the kennel, as it seems it was used as such by the subsequent owner of the place.’ The remains are comprised of a roofless two-storey rectangular building (int. c. 7.50m E–W; 3.80m N–S) of roughly coursed limestone rubble masonry, with a walled enclosure (MA022-024006-) or courtyard to E and S. The W gable (H c. 3m) and the N (H c. 2m) and S walls are intact, but the E gable (ext. H c. 1.4m) has largely collapsed. The doorway (Wth 1m) is located towards the W end of the S wall; the top of the door and a portion of the wall directly above it have collapsed. There is a small rectangular window immediately to W of the door, at the W end of that wall. Immediately inside the doorway are what appear to be the foundations of two short walls (E wall: L c. 1.20m, N wall: L. c. 1.10m) set at right angles, possibly the remnants of a small internal entrance lobby or vestibule. There is a small semi-circular fireplace (Wth 0.70m; D 0.40m) in the W gable at ground floor level, and a possible cupboard recess at the W end of the N wall. Remnants of internal plasterwork can still be seen. In the N wall a slight rebate is visible, as well as sockets, which supported timber flooring for the upper storey. In the surviving portion of the E gable there are slight remnants of an inwardly splayed window (ext. Wth c. 0.50m) at ground floor level; the collapse of the upper section of this wall suggests there may have been another window at first floor level, which is likely as no windows are evident in the other walls. At the base of the S wall, foundations built to level up the ground are visible. The wall of an enclosure (MA022-024006-) joins the SW angle of the building. The walls are thickly overgrown with ivy, and elder tree is growing in the interior of the building. Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye Date of upload: 15 June 2020

• MA022-024006 Enclosure
  Description

  Attached to a possible hospital (MA022-024005-) located 55m E of Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-). There is a stream 10m to S. A subrectangular enclosure is shown on the 1838 and 1929 OS 6-inch maps, with the possible hospital in the NW corner. The SW−S wall of the enclosure is extant. This wall (Wth c. 0.70m; H c. 2.80m, at SW corner), built of mortared limestone rubble, extends from the SW angle of the possible hospital. On its E face it appears to abut the S wall of the building, but on the W face some stones appear to be keyed into the building. It extends S from the building for 9m, then curves to E, where it can be traced extending parallel to the stream for c. 12m. At this point it peters out to collapsed remnants, largely obscured by overgrowth, but it appears originally to have continued as far as the shoreline. A ragged break (Wth 1.4m) at W, close to the possible hospital, may be the site of an entrance. There is now no trace of the N wall of the enclosure, which as indicated on the OS 6-inch maps extended E from the NE corner of the hospital. Attached images: MA022-024006-_01 S wall of enclosure -exterior face Compiled by: Anne-Julie Lafaye Date of upload: 15 June 2020

• MA022-024007 Ritual site - holy well
  Description

  The Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) is in the process of providing information on all monuments on The Historic Environment Viewer (HEV). Currently the information for this record has not been uploaded. To access available information for research purposes please make an appointment in advance with the Archive Unit (open Fridays 10.00 am – 5.00 pm), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, The Custom House, Dublin 1 D01W6XO or email NMarchive@housing.gov.ie.

• MA022-024008 Gateway
  Description

  The Archaeological Survey of Ireland (ASI) is in the process of providing information on all monuments on The Historic Environment Viewer (HEV). Currently the information for this record has not been uploaded. To access available information for research purposes please make an appointment in advance with the Archive Unit (open Fridays 10.00 am – 5.00 pm), Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, The Custom House, Dublin 1 D01W6XO or email NMarchive@housing.gov.ie.

• MA022-024009 Enclosure
  Description

  At Moyne Franciscan friary (MA022-024001-). Documentary sources detailed in Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 255) record that the friary had an orchard, and four acres of pasture surrounded by a stone wall. The outline of a rectilinear monastic precinct can still be seen enclosing the friary buildings, defined by a stone wall at S and E, and at N by a low, grassed-over wall remnants. A geophysical survey conducted in 2015 cast light on more complex land use (Dowling 2015). An E-W band (Wth c. 3m) of positive magnetic gradient to the N of the friary, close to the townland boundary between Abbeylands and Moyne, was interpreted as evidence of ‘a substantial in-filled ditch’ which ‘may comprise an early land division associated with the abbey.’ There was evidence of a trackway c. 100m E of the friary, consisting of two parallel ditches, 4m apart, on an NW−SE axis. The trackway appeared to overlie the imprint of cultivation ridges, spaced c. 3-4m apart, probably medieval or early post-medieval in date. Two other episodes of plough cultivation were noted in this area to SE of the friary precinct wall. A number of other discrete linear features to S of the friary may also be related to agricultural activity, such as drainage ditches (Dowling 2015, 7-8). Compiled by: Jane O'Shaughnessy Date of upload: 15 June 2020

Architectural heritage

No building of the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage stands in the townland of Abbeylands.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

The EPA radon map gives no estimate at the centre of the townland of Abbeylands.

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately low, low, partly inferred.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Abbeylands.

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Abbeylands with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Mayo.

Name

Abbeylands · Fearann na Mainistreach

Area

164,001 m² (16.4 ha, 40.53 acres)

Civil parish

Killala, and its townlands

Barony

Tirawley

Electoral division

Killala, the unit of the census

Census 2022

1,325 people lived in 512 households in the Killala electoral division. 79% of households owned their home. 28% of homes were built since 2001. 16% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 10% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Moyne, Rusheens

Placenames

Abbeylands on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address. Old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.