The Structural and Material Evolution of Molana Abbey, Ballynatray Demesne, County Waterford, Ireland, Site WA037-011: A Mortar Composition Study

Molana Abbey, a ruin located in Ballynatray Demesne, County Waterford, Ireland, has religious roots in the sixth century but much of the structure dates to the eleventh-century. Molana became an important center of religion and education in southern Ireland. After Henry VIII dissolved Irish monasteries in 1546, the former abbey became a part of the land holdings of Sir Walter Raleigh. The abbey was then converted from a religious to a residential structure occupied briefly by English polymath Thomas Harriot. The structure fell into disrepair until the nineteenth-century when Grice Smyth, a new owner, transformed the ruin into a garden folly. At present, the ruin continues to deteriorate, occupying a middle ground between private ownership and government protection and preservation