Invited to the city by the Anglo-Normans, the Augustinians established an abbey here sometime between 1270 and 1288. It is known as the Red Abbey because of the sandstone used in its construction.
Sometime between 1687 and 1690, Ignatius Gould, merchant and property owner, brought a section of the Red Abbey from the friars. The monks vacated the abbey at this point.
During the Siege of Cork in 1690, English forces, under the command of the Duke of Marlborough, placed a battery of cannon guns in the gardens of the Red Abbey. These cannons, along with cannons situated in Elizabeth Fort, managed to breach the walls of Cork. The tower was used as an observation post.
In the mid-eighteenth century, some of the buildings at Red Abbey were used as part of a suger refinery. The refinery burnt down accidentally in December 1799. Following the fire, the friary buildings, with the exception of the tower, were taken down piecemeal. This is the tower you see today.
Two water fonts unearthed in 1948 in the Red Abbey are currently on display in porch of the (new) Auguestinian Church on the corner of Washington St and Grand Parade in Cork City.
Further Archaeological excavations near the Red Abbey in 1977 and 1992 uncovered evidence of medieval walls and pottery. A number of skeletons were also found during the excavations. Cork City Council has restored the Red Abbey, which is listed as a national monument.
As stated earlier, this is the only structure surviving from the medieval times in Cork, making it quite an important building.
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