Originally founded in the mid 13th century by the Benedictine Order as St Mary's  Abbey of the Rock, the beautiful ruin of Hoare Abbey is Cashel Lodge's nearest neighbour - you can see the sign on the lodge gate at the bottom right of this picture.

The Abbey has had an eventful life. Only a few years after it was founded, Archbishop David McCarvell violently suppressed the Abbey and handed it over to the Cistercian Order. They say that he had a dream that the Benedictines were about to kill him, though many people doubt the truth of this. The Archbishop was a colourful and controversial character who was frequently summoned to explain his antics to the King of England.