Jerpoint Abbey in the context of "County Kilkenny"

Christianity has been the largest religion in Ireland since the 5th century. After a pagan past of Antiquity, missionaries (most famously including Saint Patrick) converted the Irish tribes to Christianity in quick order. This produced a great number of saints in the Early Middle Ages, as well as a faith interwoven with Irish identity for centuries since − though less so in recent times.

Most Christian churches are organized on an "all-Ireland" basis, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In the 2022 census, 76.1% of residents in the Republic of Ireland identified as Christians: 69.1% as Catholics, 4.2% as Protestants, 2.1% as Orthodox Christians and 0.7% as other Christians. In the 2021 Northern Irish census, 79.7% of residents identified as Christians: 42.3% as Catholics, 16.6% as Prebysterian, 11.5% as Church of Ireland members, 2.4% as Methodist and 6.9% as other Christians. Orthodoxy has been the fastest growing branch of Christianity in Ireland since 1991.

Thomastown (Irish: Baile Mhic Andáin), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of historical landmarks in the vicinity. Visitor attractions include Jerpoint Abbey, Kilfane Glen gardens, and Mount Juliet Golf Course. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. As of the 2022 census, Thomastown had a population of 2,305, making the town the third most populous in the county.

Kilcooley Abbey is a Cistercian abbey near the village of Gortnahoe in County Tipperary, Ireland. The abbey is located inside the grounds of the Kilcooley Estate. This abbey dates from 1182 when the King of Thomond Donal Mor O’Brien granted lands to the Cistercians, to build an abbey here. The abbey, which was built around 1200 is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Benedict and shares similar Cistercian architecture with both Jerpoint Abbey and Holy Cross Abbey. The abbey is open to the public.After the Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries, Kilcooley passed into the possession of the Earl of Ormond. It was granted to the English-born judge Sir Jerome Alexander in the 1630s. It passed to his daughter Elizabeth, and then through marriage to the Barker baronets of Bocking Hall, the last of whom died in 1818.