2026 Foray #3 Monasteries of the Moy

My outgoing track cycling to Carrowmore
37.5km, 296m elevation gain

I guess that you have already guessed that I collect greenways in Ireland (North or South). Greenways are a bit of a novelty here - when we first moved to the South in 1984-85 there was only one way-marked long distance walk and no "greenways" as such. Covid did a lot to change that, with folk looking for alternative but safe ways of maintaining health. 

And so I discovered the Monasteries of the Moy Greenway and, naturally, had to experience it. I biked to Sallins and thence by various trains to Ballina, the Salmon Capital of Ireland. The route starts in Ballina in Belleek Woods which is one of the largest urban woodlands in Europe.

North Mayo is home to at least six historic abbeys of which four form the basis of the Monasteries of the Moy and my route. The map below enumerates my main points of interest.

(A) Augustinian Abbey Ballina.  This Franciscan Abbey is thought to have been built on the site of a former religious site called the Augustinian House of St. Mary of Ardnaree. The current remains are thought to have been founded by Tadhg Riabhach Ó’Dubhda (O’Dowd), King of Uí. My photo is from the other side of the Moy.

(B) Rosserk Friary was built by the Joyce family circa 1440 for the Friars of the Franciscan Third Order Regular. It is one of the finest and best preserved Friaries in Ireland. There is uncertainty as to when the Friary was dissolved but there are reports that Friars remained in the area in 1606.

Rosserk Friary

(C) Moyne Abbey.  This friary was consecrated in 1462 and is still almost perfect, except the roof and some buildings on the North side. It was burned  in 1590 by Sir Richard Bingham, the English Governor of Connaught, during the Tudor reconquest and Protestant Reformation

Moyne Abbey

(D) Round Tower, Killala. Not strictly an abbey, but historic all the same.

Round Tower, Killali

(E) Rathfran Dominican Abbey, just north of Killala so technically not part of the greenway which ends at Killala. This abbey was founded in 1274 by the de Exeter family. Rathfran once had a fine east window of which only the side piers and their well moulded angle shafts remain. In 1438 indulgences were granted to those who could donate money to allow the building of a refectory and bell-tower. It was dissolved in 1577 and granted to Thomas de Exeter, and burned by Sir Richard Bingham’s army in 1590.  

Rathfran Abbey

The ruins of the 5th and 6th abbeys which I did not visit, are on the shores of Lough Conn, south of Ballina: Straide Abbey, Foxford and Errew Abbey, Crossmolina.

My landmark (F) was my destination Carrowmore beach - a beautiful sandy strand backed by dunes of long grass which I deemed not suitable for camping.

Visible from hereabouts are (G) the Gazebo on the hill opposite Carrowmore, and (H) the odd shaped mountain Aghaleague: I visited neither.

stock photo of the Gazebo

The Gazebo is worthy of mention: it is one of the most conspicuous or curious sculptures being formed of a double arch of rough stones. From Carrowmore it is visible on the horizon only as a somewhat squat building with daylight shining through, and that patch of daylight was only just discernible to the naked eye (with my long distance glasses on). It is even less discernible in my photos which says something about the camera resolution on my Pixel 10 Pro compared with the human eye. 

looking south from Carrowmore: Aghaleague on the left ?

Speaking of the abbeys, in my musings whilst cycling I wondered at the lives of the men that financed and built these ornate and comprehensive structures and at the lives of the men that served in them faithfully under the rules of their order. Compare the significant edifices of these Abbeys with the capricious Gazebo - the former a deep religious expression, the latter probably a man's folly. Which set me thinking about the religious community of which I am a part, albeit sometimes reluctantly. 

The building of the abbeys and their estates may have been initially funded by landed gentry as acts of contrition then maintained by the religious order as a service to God. Our community estate was similarly funded and is now maintained as a service to God. Each of the abbeys had their heyday, and each their demise by over enthusiastic but misled megalomaniacs. We have witnessed the recent demise of communities similar in purpose to ours: what does that say of our community? 

You can check out the rest of my photos here.

2025 Foray: Lough Talt and the Windy Gap

My track through Windy Gap and beside Lough Talt

Waking several times during the night to preempt my alarm, I finally got up at 04:30, left home at 05:00 heading towards Dublin on my bike (40km). The first hour was in the dark, aided by my Black Diamond Sprinter 500 light set and supplementary rear facing red lights for good measure. But just before reaching my destination, Heuston station, I realised something was wrong with my back wheel - it felt, well... wobbly. On further inspection I diagnosed a flat tyre - it got me to Heuston just about before total collapse. I tried pumping it up to no avail. What does one do, stranded 40km from home at 7am?  OK, I was equipped with a spare inner tube and basic tools, and the internet. The latter didn't actually lift a hand to do the work, but did inform me how easy it was to remove the rear wheel on a Trek 1.2 road bike. There wasn't time to do the necessary whilst waiting for the gate to open on my chosen service for Westport, stopping at Manulla Junction where I was to transfer to a two coach back and forth service to Ballina. And there wasn't room on the train to do the work, so I had to suffer the ignominy of a broken bike and the anxiety of travelling even further away from home not knowing for sure how things would turn out. Why anxiety? It was beyond my control, I just could not stop that little voice within saying"what if?".

Cyclists on a train get used to watching the bike rack like a hawk at every station to make sure one's own bike is not totally locked in by other bikes. Choosing a seat within sight of the rack I got to sit opposite to another cyclist whose bike was on top of mine but he was to exit before me so all OK. He turned out to be employed as a programmer in the 5G business and amongst other things we discussed 5G conspiracies and he agreed with me about the fragility of the internet as a whole and how the world has become too dependent on it, citing the scary example of remote surgery via the internet.

Always snap a shot before disassembling

So, unable to fully enjoy the journey because of my little demon "what if?", we eventually arrived at Ballina where I requisitioned the plinth outside the station where I took my bike's rear end apart. A local cycler, who had also just disembarked, offered help which I declined but was very thankful for.  Cyclists are a tight community. Anyway I finished the job and the new tyre remained inflated all the way home. But the repair must have cost me a precious half hour or so of my time allowance for the next segment of my journey which was to cycle up to Windy Gap in the Ox Mountains, then down along beautiful Lough Talt towards my destination Collooney just south of Sligo town (52.2km, elevation gain 377m). So now I had a double whammy - could I make it to the train station in Collooney in time to catch the one and only link to home - more anxiety but this time a tad more controllable as I had allowed for an extra hour in my planning. "Planning", when there is only one viable option, is a bit of an overstatement.  My lunch break (cheese and Branston sarnies) was severely curtailed, but I made it with over a half hour to spare.

Ballina terminus station

The salmon weir, Ballina

From the footbridge across the Moy

Windy Gap

Lought Talt

The route is single track with passing loops all the way until it converges into the Dublin area. My next whammy was at Edgeworthstown where the train sat for 20 minutes waiting for a down train running very late to pass.  My train did make up maybe 10 minutes of time, but my itinerary (as recommended by Irish Rail itself) allowed just 4 minutes to make the connection at Drumcondra for Sallins-and-Naas so obviously I missed it. In the event the next service was only 20 minutes later so all was well, except...

I have already mentioned that, due to the diurnal shortening of daylight hours prevalent at this time of the year, I had had to cycle in darkness for the first hour or so of my Foray: I also knew that I would arrive back home in darkness, so that every additional delay meant more darkness. And I just had to stop for F&C along the way.

I sat on a bench in Naas to eat, but could not muster much enthusiasm - the prospect of a hot shower weighed more heavily than greasy chips. So, after cramming in few more mouthfuls, I set off again and arrived back home at 21:15.  A long day out!

The morals?Always carry a spare inner tube and basic tools, be visible especially when it's dark, and don't give up and don't give in to your demons!

Collooney station

Spot the glaring error!