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Inch Abbey

Cistercian monasteries in Northern IrelandMonasteries in Northern IrelandReligious buildings and structures in County Down
Inch Abbey (geograph 183149)
Inch Abbey (geograph 183149)

Inch Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery on the outskirts of Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. It was founded by Anglo-Norman John de Courcy in the twelfth century at the site of a previous monastery which had operated from the 9th until earlier in the 12th century. De Courcy established the monastery as penance for his destruction of Erenagh Abbey in 1177.Its name is derived from the Irish word inis, meaning 'island', referring to the fact that the monastery was originally surrounded by the River Quoile. It is served by Inch Abbey railway station, which is operated by the Downpatrick and County Down Railway.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Inch Abbey (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

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N 54.3366178 ° E -5.7295675 °
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Cloister
BT30 9UP
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
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Inch Abbey (geograph 183149)
Inch Abbey (geograph 183149)
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Nearby Places

Downpatrick and County Down Railway

The Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is a 5 foot, 3 inch (1,600 mm) gauge heritage railway in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is operated by volunteers and runs passenger trains using steam and diesel locomotives, diesel railcars, and vintage carriages. The railway has approximately three miles (4.8 km) of track in a triangular-shaped layout, which connects the town of Downpatrick with the historical sites of Inch Abbey to the north and King Magnus’ Grave to the south. It also houses a museum of railway artefacts and rolling stock originating from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, dating from the 1860s to the 1980s.The DCDR’s development was spearheaded by a group of local railway enthusiasts in the early 1980s, and work started on building the railway in 1985. Most of its track is on part of the now-closed Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) mainline which ran between Belfast, Downpatrick, and Newcastle. The heritage railway first opened to the public in December 1987, and originally consisted of little more than a short stretch of track with an E-class diesel locomotive and a brake van. It has expanded incrementally since then, and reached its current length with the completion of the Inch Abbey line in 2005. The DCDR is the only five-foot, three-inch gauge heritage railway in Ireland, which has been the standard gauge on the island since the 1840s. With its Downpatrick terminus located at the foot of Down Cathedral and next to the Saint Patrick Centre, the railway has become a major tourist attraction for the town and has accumulated several hundred members. It currently has three steam and eight diesel locomotives, five of which are on loan from the Irish Traction Group, as well as the largest collection of Victorian railway carriages in Ireland. Some of these have been overhauled by the railway’s volunteers from a dilapidated state, and have received awards for their restoration.

Saint Patrick Visitor Centre
Saint Patrick Visitor Centre

The Saint Patrick Visitor Centre is a modern exhibition complex located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a permanent interpretative exhibition centre featuring interactive displays on the life and story of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It provides the only permanent exhibition centre in the world devoted to Saint Patrick.It is situated in the town centre, below Down Cathedral and the site of Saint Patrick's grave and is open all year round. It was established using Millennium Project funding from the National Lottery, cost £6.3m and opened in 2001. In the exhibition, entitled Ego Patricius, Saint Patrick's own words are used to illuminate the arrival of Christianity in Ireland and its development through his mission. It also reveals the artwork and metalwork which were features of the Early Christian period, as well as the major impact of Irish missionaries in this period in Europe. The exhibition uses a multi-media approach and state-of-the art technology to focus on the historical Saint Patrick and not on the legends, as well as a film shown in the purpose-built cinema. The design involves bold glass walls, life-size figurines, videos and voice recordings.Apart from the permanent exhibition, the Centre also features a tourist information centre, craft shop, cafe and art gallery. The Centre also has an Education Initiative reaching out to local schools.The Centre has a cross community ethos of working in the ‘Spirit of Saint Patrick’ and has worked over the years with the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin and the Ulster-Scots Agency to support studies of local traditions. Support for the Centre has been growing from parents, schools, academics, artists, politicians and people in industry and commerce thanks to the people from a variety of academic disciplines who are presently planning its future. A range of scholars and political leaders from Europe and the United States are committed to supporting the continuing work of the Centre.Since 2008 a series of 501c3 charities called the Friends of Saint Patrick Centre has created Chapters to support the work of the Centre in Milwaukee, Minnesota, Arizona, Albany and Toronto. Since that date they have supported the Centres’ Young Ambassadors' Programme, which hosts up to twelve American and Canadian university students, coming to learn about the people of Northern Ireland and feedback their discoveries to their families and friends and fellow students back at home.