Canon Island Abbey rises from the Shannon Estuary, its ruined 15th-century tower dominating the horizon. Little is known of its history, except that Donal Mor O’Brien first founded a church here at the end of the 12th century. The church ruins seen today date from the beginning of the 13th century, and there was once a circular wall around the whole monastery. Mahon O’Griffy, Bishop of Killaloe, was buried on the island in 1483.
