Complex sentence: As in Wales, there was no significant tradition of Benedictine monasticism in Ireland on which to draw; although in the Irish case, this represented an insecure foundation for Cistercian expansion.
Split into simpler sentences: As in Wales, there was no significant tradition of Benedictine monasticism in Ireland on which to draw. In the Irish case, this was a disadvantage and represented an insecure foundation for Cistercian expansion.