A former church building is being converted into the first museum in the State devoted to monks and nuns.
Mr Brian Cluer, of the Monastic Museum Committee, in Holycross, Co Tipperary, said: "We aim to highlight this history of the enclosed orders. The museum will contain monks' cells, robes and three-dimensional figures. We also hope to have an audio-visual theatre and lecture room." Mr Cluer hopes the museum will attract many of the 2,000 visitors who come annually to see the nearby 800-year-old Cistercian Abbey.