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Population centre

Aghaboe

Achadh Bhó

Aghaboe’s ecclesiastical buildings preserve distinct early monastic, Dominican and nineteenth-century histories.

Watercolour and fine ink illustration of Aghaboe Church of Ireland church, County Laois.
Illustration, Aghaboe Church of Ireland church, County Laois
Recorded locationAghaboe52.92386° N · 7.50928° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Approximate recorded location · Logainm.ie

The name

achadhfield

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

  • Achadh Bhó · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Aghaboe · English · main form
  • Aghavoe · English · main form · local name

Place & story

People & connections

Canice and the Salzburg connection

Aghaboe’s early monastery is associated with St Canice. Its eighth-century abbot St Feargal, also called Virgilius, later became Bishop of Salzburg. [2]

The Dominican ruins

The later Dominican friary is traditionally dated to 1382 and attributed to Finghan MacGillapatrick. Its east window and separate cloister and public doorways survive. [2]

Saint Canice’s Church and reused stonework

The neighbouring Church of Ireland building represents another period of construction. The architectural inventory dates Saint Canice’s to 1818 and describes a Georgian Gothic church with an octagonal, battlemented upper stage to its tower. Medieval stonework salvaged from the abbey was incorporated into the building. The nineteenth-century church therefore contains older material without itself being a surviving medieval structure. [3]

Geographic information

Place type
Population centre
County
Laois
Civil parish
Aghaboe
Within
Aghaboe
Coordinates
52.92386, -7.50928 (approximate)
Logainm ID
1413835 ↗

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Aghaboe. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Aghaboe Abbey: Laois Heritage Trail · Laois County Council
  3. Saint Canice’s Church, Aghaboe: register 12802205 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
  4. Aghaboe Church of Ireland church, County Laois illustration: based on a Photograph of Aghavoe (Aghaboe) by John M. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.