The Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) has announced the completion of a major conservation project at Boyle Abbey.

Speaking yesterday afternoon at the announcement in the King House, Boyle, Co. Roscommon, Minister Mr Brian Hayes, TD, said: "I am delighted to be here in Boyle today to announce the completion of the North Aisle Wall Structural Conservation Project, which required an investment of €2 million since the start of the project in 2007.

"The Cistercian Abbey at Boyle, Co. Roscommon was established in the middle of the 12th century and is one of the finest of the Cistercian churches to survive in Ireland. It was one of the daughter houses of Ireland’s powerful pioneering foundation at Mellifont in Co. Louth. The layout of the building complex follows the typical monastic plan with the enclosed contemplative cloister garden in the centre, surrounded by the Church to the south and the ancillary administrative, domestic and service quarters to the other sides."

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The project involved dismantling and removal the buttressing and also required the dismantling and reconstruction of the North Aisle Wall. The project included the conservation and protection of significant carved sandstone features, which display a standard of craftsmanship on a par with any contemporary European project.

The Minister concluded: "On conclusion of the conservation works programme the next phase involved the provision of a perimeter transparent security screen replacing the former intrusive blocking walls and it was decided to erect a modern lean-to glazed structure. The design is modern and is built to reflect the outline of the original monastic lean-to roof. This transparent structure will both protect the stonework of the conserved aisle from weathering and will also provide an enhanced opportunity for the visitor to more fully appreciate the monument."

(CD)