A Brief History of Kylemore Abbey

Romance, tragedy and devotion in the heart of Connemara

The history of Keylemore Abbey, Co Galway is a truly remarkable one stretching back over an impressive 180 years. It is place built of love and belief in the Irish people which turned to loss and, again, to devotion, education, enterprise and hospitality.

A grand romantic gesture filled with hope

As romantic gestures go, building a castle on the banks of lake is pretty impressive.

That’s exactly what 19th century London financier and member of the then prominent Liberal Party, Mitchel Henry did. So in love was he with his new wife, Margret Vaughn, that he built a castle for her and their family to live in.

Henry was a liberal politician, and had a strong love for Ireland. He also wanted to show what could be achieved with the correct will in this part of Ireland.

As he put it:

“My time, my fortune and my personal exertions have been given to the improvement of the neglected people of the West of Ireland”

He and Margret, were in Kylemore Valley shortly after they had gotten married. Margret commented on the beauty of the location and what a place it would be to build a home. Henry – a man of action – went and built this incredible this palatial edifice for them.

Margaret laid the first stone what would become Kylemore Castle in 1864. The couple completed the building in 1871. It comprised 33 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4 sitting rooms and extensive gardens and was quite a site.

Margaret, Mitchel and their 9 children lived there happily for the next 10 years. Mitchel went on to become the biggest employer in this part of Ireland.

Tragedy befalls them

In 1875, Margaret and Mitchel were holidaying in Egypt. While there, Margaret fell ill with a fever. Just two weeks later she died, aged 44, without returning home. Their youngest child was just two years old when she died; it goes without saying they were deeply heart-broken.

Great loss turns to devotion

Understandably, Mitchel found it hard to be in to the place they built such was the pain he felt.

To assuage his heartbreak and the sense of loss he threw himself into local politics. He Irish MP for Galway in 1871. Further, he decided the best way to honour Margaret was, again, to build. This time he devised an incredible Neo-Gothic style church which remains a centrepiece to this day.

Kylemore Cathedral was completed in 1878. It includes four colours of marble stone, each coming from the four major provinces of Ireland.

Mitchell died in 1910, laid to rest beside his beloved Margaret in a mausoleum in the grounds of the estate.

An American businessman bought the lands and estate shortly after. He gave it to his daughter who had just married the then Duke of Manchester, England. The Duke, reputed to be fond of gambling and several other vices became bankrupt not long after coming into possession of the estate.

The Benedictine order of nuns purchased the estate in 1920. By that time they were refugees on the run from persecution in Belgium.

The Benedictine Order and Kylemore Abbey

The Order set up a monastic community of nuns on the site, following the example of their patron, St. Benedictine. Thereby Kylemore Abbey came into being.

The nuns settled quickly. They set up a farm where they kept livestock, grew vegetables and set up a fishing enterprise to become close to self-sufficient. In fact, they were – like Mitchel Henry – significant employers in the area.

A school for girls was opened there in 1923, and the nuns converted some rooms in the house to provide for guests, in keeping with the Benedictine tradition of welcoming strangers. They also opened a small shop during the summer to sell local crafts and religious objects to tourists in the region. So, the building had become a centre for education, employment, crafts, enterprise, hospitality and religious devotion.

That is quite a story and legacy inspired by love back one day in Kylemore Valley.