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Collon
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Collon is a small
village in the south west corner of County Louth. Situated 10km
south of Ardee on the road to Dublin via Slane, Collon is a village
built around the Manor House of the Foster family.
The village architecture is of the late 18th century and consists of
two rows of two storey estate houses with a grassy market place in
the upper end. On the north-eastern corner of the crossroads stands
Collon House built around 1740 by the chief baron Anthony Foster
with a later 18th century addition. The Church of Ireland parish
church at the lower end was built in 1810 to a design by Daniel
Augustine Beaufort. The church has been described as "dramatic and
atmospheric" and hosted the 2008 Ardee Baroque Festival.
In the tranquil valley of the River Mattock just outside Collon lie
the noble ruins of Mellifont, the first Cistercian monastery to be
established in Ireland. It was founded in 1142 by St. Malachy. Over
forty other Cistercian monasteries were opened in Ireland following
the success of Mellifont. The monastery is also remembered as the
location where one of the most pivotal events in Irish history took
place; it was here, following his defeat at the Battle of Kinsale,
that the great Hugh O' Neil formally surrendered to Mountjoy in
1603, a surrender that marked the death knell of Gaelic
civilisation.
William of Orange also used Mellifont Abbey House as his
headquarters during the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Mellifont Abbey
is now a ruin. Little of the original Abbey remains, save a
13th-century lavabo (where the monks washed their hands before
eating), some Romanesque arches and a 14th-century chapter house
Not far from the ruins of the original monastery is New Mellifont
which was established in 1938 in the demesne of the Foster family.
An ornamental building was at the centre of this demesne, a small
but impressive Doric temple called Oriel Temple. The grounds are in
a sublime landscape, the temple on high ground with vistas to the
sea. Undulating land is part wooded, part farmed. Visitors are
welcome during the daylight hours to New Mellifont Abbey and its
grounds.
The award winning Forge Gallery Restaurant is located in Collon. The
village is close to the town of Drogheda and to several local
championship golf courses including Ardee Golf Club (10km) and The
County Louth Golf Club at Baltray (18km) |
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Collon Holiday Homes - County Louth, Ireland