Wednesday 30 September 2009

K is for...


Kylemore Abbey

Kylemore Abbey is situated in Connemara, Co. Galway in Ireland and is a beautiful neo gothic building. It used to be a private home, but in the early 1920's it was sold to the Benedictine Sisters. They originally came from Belgium, but had been chased out of that country by World War I. After several years of roaming about they ended up in Connemara.

Apart from being a convent for the sisters, it's also a boarding school for girls. The nuns already had a school while in Belgium and they continued with the school when they arrived in Ireland. One of the most well known students who attended the school is actress Angelica Huston. She was in the Addams Family, The Witches and Prizzi's Honor amongs many other ones.

In recent years the number of sisters has dwindled dramatically. There are hardly any women who want to move into a convent anymore and that has resulted in an aging population of nuns. This also means that there are ever less teaching nuns. This has in turn resulted in the order deciding to close the school. As of 2010 no new students will be accepted. All the girls who study there now, will be allowed to finish their schooling. Closing the school will not mean the order will sell the property, the nuns will continue living there.

You can visit the house and grounds, although you can only see about four or five rooms of the house. The church in the grounds is a lovely little church which is a miniature replica of the Cathedral of Norwich (UK). The gardens are definitely worth a visit as well.

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18 comments:

  1. What a beautiful shot of a lovely place! Interesting history, too. Always enjoy that as well! Thanks for sharing!

    Have a great day!

    Sylvia

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  2. I love the tours you give. I learn alot. Nice new profile picture. Perfect choice for the letter K.

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  3. What an impressive building...and interesting history also...

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  4. What an amazing structure. How cool would it to have gone to boarding school there. Shame that they need to close the school. Thank you for the very interesting history!

    ABC & Watery Wednesday

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  5. This looks like such a beautiful place, and I love the history you've included about it, too. It's too bad that they are going to have to close the school, but I'm afraid that's a sign of the times. I'd love to see the gardens here!

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  6. I can only imagine how peacefully quiet it must be in that incredibly lovely structure!

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  7. I'll have to put that on my list of places to visit! Looks gorgeous!

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  8. Thank you for the interesting information.

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  9. looks more like a castle!
    interesting history

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  10. Another interesting Irish post - we never reached Connemara and we probably never will now but it is great to read about it.

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  11. Looks like a kastle, er castle. Impressive.

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  12. THANKS FOR SHARING THAT WITH US
    IT IS A SHAME WITH ALL THE CHANGES TO COME

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  13. Looks like a castle....beautiful and great history lesson.

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  14. What a beautiful building! Love the neo-gothic architecture.

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  15. Fascinating history and a beautiful house. I wonder who still send their girls to a convent for education. No wonder its time has gone.

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  16. When you enlarge it you see the lone lady walking. Great picture.
    Sunny :)

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!