Bangor Abbey

Bangor Abbey stands on the southern shore of Belfast Lough in County Down. Founded in 558 by Saint Comgall, it became one of Ireland’s most important early monastic sites. The abbey was known as the ‘Vale of Angels’ after a legend that Saint Patrick saw the valley filled with angels. Its name was sometimes written as ‘Beannchor’. Comgall came from Antrim and had trained at Clooneenagh and Clonmacnoise before choosing this spot for his monastery. Under his strict rule, prayer, fasting and worship shaped daily life. The monks also devoted time to music, learning and penance. The abbey was a major centre of learning, second only to Armagh. Students studied scripture, theology, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music and the classics within its high ramparts. Mo Sinu moccu Min, the fifth abbot, is thought to have tutored Columbanus. The Annals of Bangor Abbey record that Carthach of Lismore and Fintan of Doon studied there. Saint Mirin served as prior before founding Paisley Abbey in Scotland. In 590, Columbanus and Gall left for Europe, where they founded monasteries in France, Switzerland and Italy. Bangor Abbey suffered repeated attacks, first by fire in 616 and 755, then by Norse raiders between 822 and 824. The Annals of Ulster describe how learned men and bishops were killed and Comgall’s relics taken. After rebuilding by Saint Malachy in the 12th century, the abbey passed to the Franciscans and later the Augustinians. Only St Malachy’s Wall remains of the original ruins. A 14th-century tower and a mural showing Christ with Saints Comgall, Gall and Columbanus can still be seen. A fragment of an 8th-century Celtic High Cross, found nearby, is built into a wall at Clandeboye Private Chapel.