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KYLEMORE ABBEY & Gothic Church
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Home of the Benedictine Nuns is situated in the Kylemore Pass in Conamara.The house was built in 1868 by Mitchell Henry as a gift for Margret,his wife . Neo-gothic in design the house displays the decorative features of this period.

The Nuns bought the House in 1920 after fleeing their convent in Ypres,Belgium in 1914 and immediately set about re-establishing their International Boarding School for Girls (they had run a successful school in Belgium for 300 yrs.) which is very much still alive today .

Kylemore Abbey is open to visitors from March till October (on request through the remainder of the year). Facilities for Visitors include an exhibition housed in the main reception rooms of the House,a visitor centre and a video which leads the visitor through the varied history of the house and those people who have lived there.

Visitors can relax in the restaurant or browse through one of the finest Craft shops in Connemara and view the unique Kylemore Abbey Pottery as it is made in our studio. The jewel in the crown of Kylemore- known locally as the Gothic Church-is the Miniature Cathedral.The Church is considered a building of national importance and was built by Mitchell Henry in 1870 . It has recently undergone wide ranging restoration work which took more than three years to complete. The Church's exterior of the is of rather dark limestone contrasting with the Interior's light caen sandstone. Columns of Marble line the walls with the use of the Green Connemara, Pink Kilkenny, and Black Armagh Marbles adding to the overall richness in the design. The Sandstone is carved ornately with no motif or design being repeated.

Recently the work of restoring the old 6-acre Victorian walled Gardens has been undertaken and progress has advanced to the extent that visitors may now go in and walk around the flower beds

Attached to the Abbey there is an International Girls' School.