St Patrick's Cathedral

Bective Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1147, before the Anglo-Norman invasion, as one of the first Cistercian monasteries in Ireland by the King of Meath Murchad Ua Maeil Sheachlainn as a daughter monastery of Mellifont Abbey and therefore belonged to the filiation of the primary abbey of Clairvaux. In 1537, the monastery was dissolved. No visible remains of the first building from the 12th century have survived. The nave still has walled arcades from the end of the 13th century.

Mellifont Abbey was founded in 1142 on the initiative of Archbishop Malachie d'Armagh and Bernard of Clairvaux as a filiation of the Clairvaux monastery. The architect, Robert, came from France. The abbey was built entirely in the Gothic style of northern France and was totally atypical for Ireland at that time. Mellifont Abbey became the model for other Cistercian monasteries in Ireland and remained the largest abbey in Ireland even after its sacking in 1494 until its suppression in 1539.

Fore Abbey is an old abbey dating from the 630s. It was inhabited by Benedictine monks and Saint Feichin d'Evreux in Normandy. Between 771 and 1169, the abbey was burnt down on numerous occasions, notably because of Viking incursions. The structure of the heart of the abbey bears a striking resemblance to that of Mont Saint-Michel. In the surrounding area, there are still eighteen crosses which used to welcome pilgrims.