Thomastown in County Kilkenny is where my great-great grandfather James Gorey lived before leaving for Australia in early 1841.

I believe his home was on a farm nearby at Jerpoint and I hope to establish the fact of that while I’m here.

However, Thomastown would have been the main town and he was most likely married here in St Mary’s Church, which was built next to the ruins of a 13th century abbey.

The building went from being a Catholic Church to one of the Protestant Church of Ireland and is now a private residence.

That sadly means it is locked. I can’t see inside and I can’t look at the graveyard.

Thomastown is situated on a stretch of the River Nore renowned for its salmon and trout.

The town was founded in the 13th century on an important crossing point by an Anglo-Norman mercenary from Wales.

Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentary forces laid siege to the town and seized it in 1650.

The population today of 2400 is only slightly more than it was in 1840 when James Gorey lived here, but it dropped to little over 1100 after the Great Hunger.

Despite being a small town I noticed at least four pubs and two betting shops.

Jerpoint Abbey is a ruined Cistercian abbey, founded in the second half of the 12th century, near Thomastown in County Kilkenny, Ireland.

The Gorey family lived near here in the 19th century and there are still Goreys nearby.

The abbey was constructed in 1180 on the order of Donogh O’Donoghoe Mac Gilla Patraic, the King of Osraige, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.

The ruins have been well preserved and Jerpoint is notable for its stone carvings.

The abbey flourished until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII.