Founded 1161
The abbey
Saint Malachy invited the Cistercians to settle in Moylurg as a daughter house of Mellifont. It was the first Cistercian monastery in Connacht. Begun in 1161 but not consecrated until 1218 — it took sixty years to complete. The design shows Burgundian influence from the order's French origins, but the carving is pure West of Ireland, "some of the most inventive architectural sculpture of the early thirteenth century in the West" — work by local masons of the so-called School of the West. The abbey was suppressed in the 16th century and now stands as a national monument, honest and open.
Built 1730
King House
A Georgian mansion built in 1730 as the seat of the King family, later used as a military barracks. By 1987 it was in considerable disrepair. Roscommon County Council bought it and undertook a four-year restoration, bringing it back to early Georgian splendour. It now houses the Boyle Civic Arts Collection, the third-largest public art collection in Ireland. The collection ranges from Presidential gifts to artefacts from the silver screen. The house also hosts the Connaught Rangers Association museum and Boyle Town Library.
Running south
The river
The River Boyle flows south from Lough Key through the town and onward toward the Shannon. It powered mills, shaped settlement, and still runs through the landscape. Walk the bank path in autumn and you see Boyle as it was — a town that worked because water moved south.