Inislounaght Abbey stands on the bank of the River Suir about three kilometres west of Clonmel, its ruins half-hidden by trees and accessible via a quiet lane. Founded around 1147 as a Cistercian house, it was one of the earliest monasteries of that order in Ireland, and it remained active until the Henrician suppression in the sixteenth century.
What survives is fragmentary but atmospheric: sections of cloister wall, the outline of the nave and chancel, and several carved grave slabs. The setting on the riverbank is beautiful, and the site gets few visitors. Getting there involves a short walk along a sometimes muddy track — appropriate enough for a Cistercian foundation that valued austerity and remoteness.