St. Mary’s Abbey, founded in 1139, was one of the largest and most important medieval monasteries in Ireland. Although there are few visible remains of the Abbey today, its memory is preserved in local street names – Abbey St., Little Mary Street., Capel St. (from the Latin Capella – Chapel) and Mary St.

Of the original buildings there now remains only the Chapter House and Slype.

The Chapter House was the most important room in the monastery after the Church. Here the monks gathered after morning mass. After prayers, a chapter from the Rule was read out (hence domus capituli or chapter house) followed by comments and spiritual advice from the abbot. Then came prayers for the dead and the ceremony ended with public confession, each monk in turn speaking openly in front of his brothers. The Chapter House was the conference room of the monastery and as such merited special architectural treatment. The Slype was the corridor which linked the privacy of the cloister with the open area to the East, where the infirmary was usually situated