Major history conference planned for Cong

A MAJOR conference examining the history and heritage of Cong Abbey will take place in Cong this summer.

'Cong Abbey: Canons, Canonesses, Characters and Crosses' will be hosted by the Cong Moytura Heritage Society from Friday to Sunday, August 19 to 21, and will feature talks by leading archaeologists, art historians, archivists and historians and guided visits to the abbeys of Cong and Inishmaine.

The conference introduction will be on the night of August 19 in the village, followed by a social night of traditional music and craic.

Marian McHugh, chairperson of the Cong Moytura Heritage Society, said: “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to host this important event. It is the first major conference in Ireland to examine the rich cultural heritage of Cong Abbey and the association of the abbey with the Augustinian Order.

“We look forward to welcoming all those with an interest in history and our heritage to an exciting weekend in Cong.”

Tickets and further information, including the full programme of events, are available at https://www.congabbeyconference.com/.

Cong Abbey is one of the best-preserved medieval monastic foundations in Ireland. Founded early in the 12th Century by the O’Conor kings of Connacht for the Regular Canons of St. Augustine as part of a wide-ranging reform of the Irish church, it remained the Order’s Irish stronghold until the death of its last member, Abbot Patrick Prendergast, in 1829.