Manistir an Aonaigh - The Monastery of The Fair.

The village and parish of Manister is situated 5km east of Croom, in the direction of Lough Gur. The name is derived from a Monastery, founded in the 12th Century, on the site of an ancient Fairor Aonach. The Monastery was built on the banks of the Camogue River and founded by Turlough O'Brien, King of Thomand in 1148 and donated to the Cistercian Monks from Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth. Later Monks from Manistir supplied the first community of Monks for the great Cistercian Abbey of Holy Cross Tipperary. The fair site or Aonach which gave Monaster an Aonaigh its name was located on the north side of the river and is marked by the overgrown cairns, known locally as the Fort; the ancient fair was also known as Aonach Cairbre, the Fair of Carbery. The Monastery was embroiled in two wars and attacked, in 1307 and again in 1579 and subjected to considerable destruction. Eventually it was suppressed by the time of the reformation and all its possessions granted by Queen Elizabeth I to Sir Henry Wallop. Over time the Monastery changed ownership regularly and dilapidated gradually to the impressive ruins we see today. The Monastery was also known as Manister na Maighe, The Monastery of the Maigue. The Camogue River joins the Maigue River outside Croom. The landscape of Manistir and the surrounding countryside is overlooked by Troy Hill (125m.), which derives its name from the word 'Troy', an outlaw or reparee, the likes of which, 'As Haters of English Power', frequented the hill in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The lake nearby is frequented by many species of birds, swans, heron, wild duck and geese. The hill was originally known as Cnoc Droim Asail.