Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
416. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the plan for improvement works at Kilcrea Abbey at Kilcrea, Cork given the increasingly poor condition of the site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3451/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraKilcrea Abbey/Friary was founded and built by Observant Franciscans in Kilcrea, near Ovens, Co. Cork in the mid fifteenth century. It is a National Monument, Number 182, and is in State Ownership. It was built near an earlier Christian site, which was named after Saint Cyra or St. Créidh, the original abbess of the nunnery associated with this site, and situated east of Kilcrea Abbey.
The upright remains of the Abbey are in the care of the OPW, while the graveyard is in the care of the Local Authority, Cork County Council. In 2026, the Office of Public Works hopes to undertake stone conservation and repair works on the area under its care.
At the entrance to the Abbey, a piece of stonework is lying on the ground. It appears to have fallen from a window reveal. It will be reinstated and the masonry surrounding it consolidated, as soon as Ministerial Consent is obtained from the Department of Housing Local Government and Heritage to carry out this work.
In addition, Ministerial Consent will soon be submitted to undertake a programme of localised consolidation and walltop repairs, including to an area at the front of the church.
It is also intended to shortly commission an Arborist's Report, with a view to concentrating on the cutting back of the ivy from the structure.
