If you’re on the road and heading towards Castlepollard, a brief detour to Fore is a must. This tiny hamlet is to be found nestled in between the Hill of Ben and the Hill of Houndslow alongside the 13th Century ruins of an early Benedictine Abbey which stands prominently in a field.
Founded by Saint Feichin at around 630CE, this ancient structure used to house around 300 French Benedictine monks from Évreux in Normandy. The Abbey is also famous for what the locals refer to as its seven wonders. These include such curiosities as the stream that flows uphill, the water that doesn’t boil, and the tree that wouldn’t burn – although it would be doubtful that the locals would stand idly by while you attempted to put this last theory to the test.
Another curious aspect of Fore are the eighteen crosses that are spread around the village up to seven miles away with one of them being inside the village itself. Some of them still bear elegant carvings on them whereas others had long since been eroded smooth by the elements and time. These crosses are a testimony to times of religious persecution for indeed, it cannot be said that the monks in the Fore Abbey had it easy. Between the year 771 and 1169, the abbey was burnt twelve times by pillaging invaders. This picturesque, quiet, and deeply historic, rural corner of County Westmeath also features several lakes and is an ideal spot to break your journey into the Irish countryside and really make the most out of your expeditions from Dublin.
