Fore Abbey is the old Benedictine Abbey ruin just outside the town of Mullingar. Fore is the anglicised version of the Irish name that signifies “the town of the water-springs” and was given to the area after Saint Feichin’s spring which is next to the old church a short distance from where the ruined monastery still stands. It was St. Feichin who founded the ancient Fore Abbey around 630. By 665 there were 300 monks living in the community.
Fore Abbey is the old Benedictine Abbey ruin just outside the town of Mullingar. Fore is the anglicised version of the Irish name that signifies “the town of the water-springs” and was given to the area after Saint Feichin’s spring which is next to the old church. It was St. Feichin who founded the ancient Fore Abbey around 630. By 665 there were 300 monks living in the community.
In the 13th century Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath and landlord built a Bendictine priory nearby. Many of the remaining buildings are from the 15th century and have been restored throughout this century. This priory was dedicated to both St Feichin and St Taurin, the Évreux.
The Abbey is also noted for what locals call its 7 wonders:
1) The monastery built upon the bog.
2) The mill without a race. St. Fechin reportedly caused water to flow from the ground and operate a mill that had no visible water supply – in reality water from Lough Lene flows through the ground.
3) The water that flows uphill. St. Fechin reportedly used his staff to make the water flow uphill
4) The tree that has three branches/the tree that won’t burn. Pilgrims place coins in it, giving it the name “the copper tree.”
5) The water that doesn’t boil in St Fechin’s holy well.
6) The anchorite in a cell
7) The lintel-stone raised by St. Fechin’s prayers.
