Athassel Priory

2mi/3km east of Thomastown Castle, and east, too, of Tipperary, the road crosses the Suir at the village of Golden. Picturesquely situated on a rocky islet in the river stands a ruined castle. Beyond the bridge a road on the right leads to the ruins of Ireland's largest medieval monastery, Athassel Priory (13th-15th C; National Monument), an Augustinian house founded by William de Burgh and dissolved in the mid-16th C. The remains cover an area of 4ac/1.6ha. The church, 213ft/65m long, has an aisled nave, a choir and transepts, with a handsome tower over the crossing. In the choir is the tomb of a Norman knight (13th C). Practically nothing is left of the cloister, around which are the extensive conventual buildings, surrounded by a high