Medieval Mayo Churches and Abbeys

Medieval Mayo Churches and Abbeys by Peter Harbison is a beautiful book by Mayo County Council which explores some of the exceptional build heritage in the county.

The book is designed to present a selection of Mayo’s religious monuments of stone created during the thousand years from AD 600 to 1600. Some of the most interesting early examples are found in islands off the Mullet peninsula and the type of structures altered with time such as the Romanesque style seen in the Augustinian house of Cong and Ballintubber Abbey.

The Gothic style followed while the invasion of the Normans led to much larger churches being constructed. Imposing friaries were built at Moyne and Rosserk in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries while the Cistercians built a marvellous church on Clare Island.

This splendid publication is enlivened not just by photographs but also by nostalgic artworks from the eighteenth to twentieth century.

Superbly produced as an impressive hardback, this book is a collector’s item.