During the seventh century a party of monks arrived from Inisboffin by sea at Tallabane owing to a quarrel between the Irish and English monks on that island. St Colman at the head of his English monks left their island monastery.

At Tallabane, in the western portion of Kilgeever parish, he built his new monastery. The ruins measure twenty-five feet by twelve and the remains of the walls measure four feet in height. Two side-walls and portion of a gable still stand. The building was built with a kind of sand-stone plastered with a mixture like "dobe". There were two apartments one the church, and the other, living quarters for the monks. There were openings for two windows and one door in each apartment. After some years' residence there St Colman and his monks left the place and went to Magh Eó where he built his famous monastery