Kylemore nuns move into monastery designed by Mayo architect

THE first female monastery to be built in Ireland in 350 years has been designed by a Mayo architect.

Fifteen Benedictine nuns have officially moved into a new monastery at Kylemore Abbey which was designed by Michael Horan of Castlebar-based Axo Architects.

Mr Horan’s firm were also behind the award-winning Kylemore Abbey Interpretation project, which saw the historic castle and grounds undergo renovations to make it accessible and visitor-friendly.

The new monastery, which was officially opened by Archbishop Francis Duffy last weekend, will provide more space to allow the nuns to have processions and host retreats and gatherings.

Kylemore Abbey was first occupied by the Benedictine nuns in 1920 after they fled bombing in Belgium during World War 1. At one point, between 25 and 30 nuns lived at Kylemore. 

Today, it is one of the most popular attractions in Connemara, drawing an estimated 500,000 visitors annually. It employs 150 people at the height of the tourist season.

Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday, Mr Horan described working on the €10 million monastery as ‘the crowning glory of a career’.

“As an architect, it’s been incredible, because you’ll never ever get to design anything like that where you’re designing something for a religious order at the heart of a tourist estate where you have five hundred thousand visitors from every corner of the world.”

Mr Horan said the new monastery would allow the nuns to remain at ‘the heart of Kylemore’ while affording them privacy.

“What they were looking for in the monastery was that they could be apart of, but apart from,” he explained.

Since 2007, the nuns have lived in a farmhouse on the castle grounds. In 2009, the monastery came close to closing after it closed its prestigious boarding school.

Archbishop Francis Duffy described the opening of the new monastery as ‘a very rare event in Ireland and perhaps in western Europe’.

“Don’t let the significance of this most historic moment pass you by,” he told a gathering which included religious and civic leaders.

It was due to be completed in 2020 in time for the centenary of the Benedictines’ arrival to Connemara but was delayed by the pandemic and construction inflation.