placenamesMountmelleray
Cnoc Mheilearaí
A community displaced from France founded Mount Melleray in 1832 and later built a substantial new abbey church.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Cnoc Mheilearaí · Irish · main form
- Mountmelleray · English · main form
Place & story
A refuge from France
Irish and English monks expelled from Melleray in France came to Ireland under Vincent de Paul Ryan. They founded their monastery at Scrahan, near Cappoquin, on 30 May 1832, naming it after their former home. The new monastery’s foundation stone was blessed in 1833. Ryan received the blessing as abbot in May 1835 after the community was raised to abbey status. [2]
The twentieth-century church
Work on the new abbey church began in January 1935. It was completed and blessed on 26 November 1940, with marble altars and stained glass subsequently installed through benefactors’ gifts. Its consecration followed on 20 August 1952. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Mountmelleray. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- History of the Abbey · Mount Melleray Abbey
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2009-01-27. How this page was prepared.