The ruins on the site belong to a Dominican friary founded in 1382 by Finghan MacGillapatrick, Lord of Upper Ossory. The church, which was conserved by the local community, contains a beautifully carved three-light window in the east wall. The abbey was suppressed in 1540. In 1984, Dr. Jakob Mayr archbishop of Salzburg visited the abbey, in honour of St. Vergilius. In 1994, Irish President Mary McAleese visited the abbey, and in 2001 the Austrian ambassador, Dr. Paul Leifer also visited. It has also been a place of recurrent heritage pilgrimage by the members of the Fitzpatrick-Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society. The civil parish of Aghaboe and the Roman Catholic parish of Aghaboe, which differ greatly from each other in extent, are both named after the abbey.