Ballintubber, County Mayo, Ireland
Founded in 1216 by King Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair for the Augustinians, Ballintubber is known as 'the abbey that refused to die': Catholics kept worshipping in the roofless church through penal times. The nave was restored and re-roofed by 1966 and the abbey is still a place of Catholic worship, though no religious community lives here.
The east wing of the cloister has been derelict, and the Ballintubber Abbey Trust has worked since 2008 to rebuild it. Works began in 2026 on a project reported at 6.4 million euros to restore the east wing as a three-story culture and heritage visitor center and to conserve the chapter house and cloister, backed by a 5.842 million euro state grant. The abbey asks for donations to maintain and restore the abbey and its grounds and to support the new East Wing Visitor and Heritage Center.
Before you act. The project is largely state-funded and already on site, and the Trust does not publish what it still has to raise, so the remaining need may be modest. There is no monastic community; the abbey is a working Catholic church cared for by the Trust.
Last checked 9 November 2026. Parts of this entry could not be fully confirmed; see the note above. Responsible body: Ballintubber Abbey Trust.
Murroe, Ireland
Ahead of its 2027 centenary the abbey asks for regular gifts, larger donations to the Glenstal Development Fund for capital projects, and bequests, saying the estate and buildings need investment and upgrading. A four-year restoration of the castle exterior has been completed, and 2026-2027 is set aside for planning further work on the campus.
Cobh, Ireland
The community's own appeal says the house is being seriously undermined by water getting in through the disintegrating lime render, and that roofs and chimneys need work; in February 2026 the Irish Examiner reported that the building needs extensive repairs, including re-rendering of the exterior walls. Help would go to these repairs to the house where the six nuns live and pray.