- Impressive priory ruins in village setting.
- High crosses in churchyard and wayside cross nearby.
- Medieval sarcophagus in priory ruins.
- St Cianán's Church (medieval, in ruins) nearby.
- Has "ghost" round tower.
- Cleanliness leaves a lot to be desired.
- Saint Patrick himself established Saint Ciánan here in the 5th century.
- In 1150 or 1182 Augustinian monks established a monastery in Duleek, the priory was built from the 13th century onwards.
- Several important graves in the priory pay testament to its local influence.
When you drive through Duleek, keep a look-out for the tower and spire - or for the old wayside cross on a green near some crossroads. Look across the main road from the cross and you will spot the priory tower. Drive a few dozen meters towards the village center and take a left ... there you are!
It might come as a surprise that the spire next to the priory tower belongs to a restaurant, fittingly named "The Spire" and using a deconsecrated church. When the tower was built an older round tower was partly incorporated - the "ghost" of it can be seen in the square building still. The priory ruins are large but not too spectacular - some Romanesque fragents survive and pride of place must go to the altar tomb of the Preston and Plunkett families, richly carved.
The fragment of a Celtic cross in the priory is impressive, but a true High Cross (though of severely limited height) is found next to the restaurant.
Just a short walk from the priory are St Cianán's Church (ruins of a medieval church in a field) and the Dowdall Cross, a wayside cross erected in 1601 by Dame Jennet Dowdall.
What lets the priory down, despite its generally well-preserved state, is the obvious attraction as a meeting point for locals with too much time on their hands - a lot of litter pointing to late-night revelries can be found. Mercyfully imported beer seems to be the drug of choice and graffiti is rare ...
