Kylemore Abbey

Kylemore Abbey tickets: which one to buy

Kylemore Abbey stands on the shore of Pollacapall Lough at the foot of the Doughruagh mountain in Connemara, County Galway, in the west of Ireland, and a ticket is required, covering the abbey's restored rooms, the neo-Gothic church, the Victorian walled garden and the grounds, with a shuttle bus to the garden. It is one of the most photographed buildings in Ireland.

Day tours from Galway, about an hour and a half away, often combine Kylemore with Connemara National Park, the fjord of Killary Harbour, the village of Leenane and the town of Clifden. A car gives more freedom to explore the wild landscape of Connemara. The estate has a café, a shop selling chocolate and pottery made by the nuns, and walking trails. The abbey is home to a community of Benedictine nuns, and parts are private. The shuttle bus from the visitor centre to the walled garden runs every fifteen minutes.

Visiting Kylemore Abbey: what to see

The castle was built between 1867 and 1871 by Mitchell Henry, a wealthy surgeon and politician from Manchester, as a romantic home for his wife Margaret, who had fallen in love with the area on their honeymoon. After Margaret died of an illness in Egypt in 1874, Henry built a neo-Gothic church on the estate in her memory, a miniature cathedral with carved stone and marble from the four provinces of Ireland. In 1920, Benedictine nuns who had fled Ypres in Belgium during the First World War bought the castle and turned it into an abbey and a boarding school for girls, which closed in 2010. Visitors can see several restored rooms of the house, the Gothic church, the mausoleum where Mitchell and Margaret Henry are buried, and the Victorian walled garden, one of the largest in Ireland, restored with plants of the period.

The castle's restored rooms include the drawing room, the dining room and the study, with period furniture and photographs. The Gothic church's interior has columns of green Connemara marble and stained glass windows. The mausoleum, a simple brick building in the woods, holds the tombs of Mitchell and Margaret Henry. The walled garden includes a flower garden and a vegetable garden, divided by a stream, with glasshouses and the head gardener's house. The nuns produce handmade chocolate, soap and pottery sold in the shop. The woodland walk between the abbey and the church passes giant rhododendrons and old trees.

Kylemore Abbey opening hours and the best time to go

The estate is open daily, with shorter hours in winter. Summer is the busiest season, with tour buses arriving in the middle of the day, and early morning is the best time to photograph the abbey reflected in the lake. Spring brings rhododendrons, and autumn brings colourful woodlands. The weather in Connemara is changeable, with frequent rain, so bring waterproof clothing. The walled garden is best from late spring to early autumn. Allow about two to three hours for the abbey, church and gardens, and drive through the Connemara landscape afterwards. Killary Harbour, one of Ireland's few fjords, is about twenty minutes' drive east and offers boat cruises.