Category Archives: Medieval Church

Medieval Pilgrimage at Lemanaghan, Co Offaly

The ecclesiastical settlement of Lemanaghan is one of Co. Offaly’s hidden treasures. There  is so much to say about the architectural remains and the history of the site  and of course its founding saint, Manchan.   I am going to  focus on the evidence for medieval pilgrimage at the site .

In early medieval times  Lemanaghan was  located  in the territory of the Delhna Ehtra tribe close to the border of the territory of the Delbna Ethra  and the Ferceall.   For the modern traveler it is located along the R436   to the east of the town of Ferbane.

Map of Lemanghan showing the monastic remains from Bing maps

Map of the ecclesiastical remains a t Lemanghan from Bing maps (http://www.bing.com/maps/)

Lemanaghan was founded in the 7th century after King Diarmaid   son of Aedh Sláine, granted the land of the territory of Tuaim-nEirc (Doimerc) to Clonmacnoise following his victory at the battle against Guaire King of Connaught in 645/646.  It appears  that Manchan a monk of Clonmacnoise, founded a sister monastery  here  at Liath-Manchain  ” the grey place of Manchan” (Lemanaghan is the anglicized version ). There are a number of traditions  concerning the geneology St Manchan.  One tradition  suggests he was a member of the Ulaidh of Ulster while another suggest he a was a member of the Eoghanachta of Munster and another that he  was from Wales.  The saint was credited with writing many poems during his lifetime .  Manchan is also associated with the Mohill in Co Leitrim where local tradition holds he  founded a monastery here before heading to Lemanaghan. Manchan died in 664/665  having caught the yellow plague that raged through the country. This is the same plague which killed St Féichín of Fore.

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St Manchan’s church at Lemanaghan

The modern landscape of green fields that surround Lemanaghan  would not  have been the lanscape encountered by  early and later medieval travelers & pilgrim’s.  The modern landscape surrounding Lemanaghan  is  a product of  modern intensive peat cutting.   Originally the monastery  was  founded on a  natural island of dry ground surrounded by  raised bogs. Monahan writing in 1863 describes the site as follows;

Standing on a low swell, an armlet of well-reclaimed bog, it gently rises above the extensive moors with which it is almost surrounded.

This doesn’t mean the Lemanaghan was isolated  from the rest of the world. It was linked  to other settlements in the area in particular Clonmacnoise , and the wider world  through a series of bog roads and tracks . Excavations carried out in the surrounding landscape have identified several roads and tracks many  dating to the 6th and 7th centuries when the monastery was founded.  The excavations also show that roads and tracks were being built and repaired around Lemanaghan up to the 17th century, suggesting it was a focal point in the landscape throughout the medieval period.  Thus its location was not a barrier to pilgrims and visitors.

Little physical evidence remains of the early monastery with the exception of a number of early medieval cross slabs ( two of which are found with St Manchan’s church and ten others housed in national school), a large  bullaun stone (beside the holy well) and a holy well dedicated to St Manchan.  The   annals  list the names of several abbots of the monastery ( in the years  717, 767, 792, 853, 893, 1205). The fortunes of the monastery declined in the later medieval period.  By 1302-6  Lemanaghan became a parochial church.  The papal taxation records,  record that there were no returns from the vicarage of Lemanaghan as it had been ‘laid to waste by the ravages of war’.  St Manchan’s Church  continued in use probably until 17th century and  by 1682-5, the church was recorded as being in a ruinous condition, with church services being held in a nearby house.

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Early medieval cross slab within St Manchan’s church

The main monastic complex  was located at the site of   the modern graveyard. All that  remains  today of this once vibrant monastery  are  two structures called St Manchan’s church and St Manchan’s house.

St Manchan’s church  was built-in  two phases, the  west end dates to the 12th century.  Further building work was carried out in the 15th century at the eastern end .  The  western end of the building  is the oldest with  traces large limestone blocks in its  lower walls and a large Romanesque doorway of 12th century date marks the  entrance in west gable.  A  round-headed Romanesque window also survives.

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Romanesque doorway at St Manchan’s church

Little remains of the second structure called St Manchan’ house, with  only the foot prints of the foundations   visible, the Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly suggest that it is  likely contemporary with the 15th century section of St Manchan’s church.

St Manchan's house

A third church  known as St Mella’s cell,  is located  approximately 350m to the  east.  The site is connected to the main monastic centre  by a narrow paved causeway. Local folklore recounts  that  depressions visible   in the surface of the paving stones of the causeway were  caused by  the saints cow.  St Mella was Manchan’s mother and  tradition suggest she  live here as an anchorite. The present church may have been built on the original cell.

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Causeway leading to St Mella’s Cell

St Mella’s cell  is quiet small measuring  5.5m x 3.1m internally. The walls are  0.8m thick  and constructed  of large  what look like really large cut stones.  These stones are in fact thin slabs set on edge  in the manner of facing stones and the core of the wall is filled with stone rubble. This type of building technique is common in pre-Norman Irish church building.  The church is surrounded by  its original rectangular-shaped enclosure (43m E-W by 35.5m north-south).

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Evidence for Pilgrimage

So what can we say about pilgrimage at Lemanaghan in medieval times?  Pilgrims came here to venerate St Manchan and the anniversary of  the saints  death on the 24th of January would have had a special appeal for pilgrims.  Pilgrims  probably  first began coming here following Manchan’s death.  Given Lemanaghan   proximity and close connections to Clonmacnoise,  the site likely attracted pilgrims heading to Clonmacnoise and to other sites such as Durrow and Rahan, acting as a secondary shrine.  Manchan was probably buried here we have no way of knowing if the saints grave had an appeal for pilgrims.  From the 12th century  onwards  a reliquary known as St Manchan shrine   would also have attracted pilgrims.

The shrine was   commissioned by High King of Ireland, Turlough O’ Connor and  was reputed to house the bones of St Manchan  and manufactured at Clonmacnoise. The annals for 1166 state

The shrine of Manchan, of Maethail (Mohill), was covered by Ruaidhri Ua Conchobhair , and an embroidering of gold was carried over it by him, in as good a style as a relic was ever covered.

This reference likely refers to the Lemanaghan shrine  although it is possible it may refer to second shrine now lost, that existed at Mohill.  Fragments of bone possibly from the saint were found within the shrine.  From the sparse references that exist the shrine appears to have  been  housed near the high alter of St Manchan’s church untill  as late as  the 17th century. It was later moved to the parish church at Boher where it remained until it was stolen last year. Thankfully the shrine was recovered the next day. St Manchan’s shrine is one of the finest  medieval reliquaries to survive in Ireland and its loss would have been significant.

St Manchan’s shrine is what is known as a   house- shaped shrine and resembles the pitched roof of  church or oratory. The shrine  is made of yew wood ( 48cm tall by 40 cm wide by 61cm long) and decorated with highly decorated bronze figures and bosses and  sits on four feet. The shrine was portable  which meant it could be  carried in processions. Four metal loops are found at each corner which allowed wooden poles to be treaded through.  A reliquary procession may have formed part for the pilgrim rituals on  the more important days in the pilgrim calendar such as the saints feast day. It likely that the date of the translation of the saints relics to the shrine would also have been a special day in the pilgrim calendar.

In modern times a piscina   (a shallow basin placed near the altar  of the church  used for washing the communion vessels), at the east end of the south wall of St Manchan’s church   became  a point of modern devotion. Votive offerings such as  coins, pins  and a small plastic statue of Christ are left  behind by modern pilgrims.

Piscina fille with votive offerings

Piscina with votive offerings

Apart from the  aforementioned reliquary, pilgrims would also have visited St Manchan’s holy well.  According to  Monahan writing in 1886  there were  three wells at the site

to which the blind, lame and persons afflicted with other chronic diseases, come on the anniversary of the patrons saint’s death.

Today only one well holy well  remains, it is located close to  the main monastery beside the paved causeway  that connects the main monastic site with  St Mella’s church.  A large bullaun stone and rag tree are also associated with the well.

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Bullaun stone at St Manchan’s holy well

The wells at Lemanaghan may have been a focus of pre-Christian devotion and were christianised when the monastery was founded. The origin  legend for the well tells that  St Manchan struck a rock with his staff and water poured forth.  Another version of the tale states that an existing  well  was blessed by him.  Today people  visit the well throughout the year but the 24th of January the saint’s feast day still has a special appeal.  The  present  well, a natural spring,  is a product of   restoration work carried out  during the 1930s.  Four grave slabs in upright positions were revealed, set out in a cruciform pattern. The spring is enclosed by a stone wall ( key hole shaped) and accessed by series of steps. The surrounding area has been paved. The base of the well is full of coins left by modern visitors to the well.

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St Manchan’s well

The waters of the well are reputed to cure   nearly every ailment is cured , but particularly neuralgia, cancer and warts. The folklore suggests that for a  person to be cured they must apply water to the affected part and walk three times around the well. Beside the well is a misshapen ash tree, covered in rags, handkerchief, rosary beads etc. There is  local  tradition of taking pieces of wood to protect the home.  Similar  practices occur at other sites church as St Moling’s well at Mullinakill Co Kilkenny, where the wood of the tree beside the well is supposed to protect against fire.

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Rag tree beside St Manchan’s holy well

Like most sites we can only get a  glimpse of the medieval pilgrimage tradition  here, through the centuries  pilgrimage has continued and adapted  to the modern pilgrim landscape which focuses on the  piscina within the church and the holy well and rag tree.  I think Lemanaghan was a pilgrimage site in its own right with St Manchan attracting pilgrims  from the locality and beyond but it may have also acted as a secondary shrine for pilgrims enroute to Clonmacnoise & Durrow. If you want to find out more about the site and its history check out the sources listed below.

© Louise Nugent 2013

References

Crawford,  H. S. 1911. ‘The early slabs at Leamonaghan, King’s County’, JRSAI, xli,  151-56.

De Paor, L. 1998, ‘The Monastic ideal; a poem attributed to St. Manachan’ in Ireland and Europe,   163-169.

Fitzpatrick,  E. & O’Brien, C.  1998.  Medieval churches of County Offaly.  Dublin: Government of Ireland.

Graves, J.1874, ‘The Church and Shrine of St. Manchan’ JRSAI, xiii , 134-150.

Monahan, J. 1886. Records relating to the dioceses of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise. Dublin : M. H. Gill and son.

O’Carroll, E. 2001. The Archaeology of Leamonaghan: the Story of an Irish Bog. Dublin.

O’Riain, P. 2011. The dictionary of Early Irish Saints. Dublin : Four Courts Press.

O’Brien, C. &  Sweetman, D. P. (eds) 1997.  Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly . Dublin : Stationery Office.

http://www.logainm.ie/Viewer.aspx?text=lemanaghan&streets=yes

Saint Nicholas an Irish Connection

Given that it is  Christmas, this post has a slightly festive theme. It will  explore  the development of the cult of St Nicholas and the saints’  connections with medieval Ireland.

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St Nicholas of Myra

St Nicholas was born in the 4th century and following his death,  his cult developed and spread across the Christian world.  He was a very important saint and was the patron saint of  merchants, sailors, prisoners and children. Today he is venerated in both the Orthrodox and Catholic church. Over time his cult  developed into the modern Santa Clause tradition.

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Map of modern day Turkey showing the territory of Lycia

St  Nicholas  was  born into a wealthy family in  Asia Minor in a place called  Patara (in the modern-day Turkey).  He became  bishop of the port town of  Myra in  the territory of Lycia.

St Nicholas being carried to his burial place (http://www.omhksea.org/2011/12/saint-nicholas-archbishop-of-myra/)

An image of St Nicholas being carried to his burial-place (http://www.omhksea.org/2011/12/saint-nicholas-archbishop-of-myra/)

The site of his grave soon attracted pilgrims and Myra became a thriving pilgrimage destination. It is thought that the site of the saints grave is located within  the 9th century church  of St Nicholas on the outskirts of Myra. This church sits on an earlier 6th century  church which tradition holds was built over the grave of the saint. Within the present church , there is a  sarcophagus which is thought to have held the remains of the saint.

St Nicholas's tomb at Myra (from http://www.obgtravel.com/DemreE.htm)

St Nicholas’s tomb at Myra (from http://www.obgtravel.com/DemreE.htm)

Throughout his life , St Nicholas performed many miracles and  acts of kindness. Fresco’s within the church depict scenes from the saints life, such as  healing the sick and Nicholas saving the Basileios from the Arabs.

The church at Myra remained a place of pilgrimage  even after the remains of St. Nicholas were stolen in 1087 AD  by Italian sailor from Bari and  brought to  the port town of Bari  in Italy where they remain to this day.  Tradition holds that in their haste  the sailors left fragments of the body  in the grave and these were collected by Venetian sailors during the first crusade and  then brought to Venice. They  were then placed in a church  dedicated to the saint an  on the  Lido.  Over the centuries there was much disagreement between Bari and Venice as to who had the true relic of the saint. Interestingly  Professor of anatomy Luigi Martino at the University of Bari has examined both the remains at Bari and Venice and concluded that the fragments of bones in Venice were complementary to the bones in Bari. His investigations suggest that the bone  are from the skeleton of the same man ( http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/relics-in-the-lido-of-venice/ ).

Thanks to the relics of the saint,  Bari  soon became a great centre of pilgrimage.   Following the saint’s death in the 4th century his body was said to exude a clear liquid called manna or myrrh which was believed to have miraculous powers. When the skeleton was moved to Bari it continued  to exude this clear liquid which was called ‘manna of the saint’. Pilgrims believed the manna had special healing powers .  The manna was diluted and made available in bottles decorated with images of the saint. Every year  on the feast day  of the translation of St Nicholas relics to Bari   a great festival  takes place which culminates in the extraction of the manna by the rector  of the Basilica  (this you tube  link shows this  ceremony

St Nichola's tomb at Bari (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/relics/)

St Nicholas’ tomb at Bari (http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/relics/)

So what of the saints connections with Ireland?

The earliest evidence for the  cult of St Nicholas  in Ireland  occurs in the Hiberno Norse town of Dublin.  In  1038, Sigtrygg Silkbeard Olafsson, king of Dublin, with the support of Dúnán the bishop of the city, founded Christ Church Cathedral, with a   chapel  dedicated to St. Nicholas (Bairéad 2010).  For a really interesting discussion on the introduction of the cult of St Nicholas to 11th century Dublin see Eoin Bairéad’s article Nicholas and Dublin  reference given below.

In the  medieval period  his cult  was found in  Gaelic and Norman communities alike.  Dedications to St Nicholas are found attached to holy wells and medieval parish churches across  the entire island of Ireland.  At present I am putting together a database of all medieval sites dedicated to the saint. Hopefully by this time next year I will be able to share more information on the distribution of the cult in Ireland.

One of the most beautiful  medieval churches dedicated to St Nicholas in Ireland is the medieval collegiate church  in Galway city.

St Nicholas's collegiate church Galway

St Nicholas’s collegiate church Galway

Churches and chapels  dedicated to the saint are also found in the port towns of Drogheda  and Waterford.  Additional dedications are found at Dunsany Co Meath, Clonmel, Co Tipperary and Newtown Jerpoint  Co Kilkenny. Holy wells dedicated to the saint are found   in the counties of  Kerry, Limerick ,  Meath and Waterford .

Given the popularity of St Nicholas I see no reason why Irish pilgrims to Rome or Jerusalem would not have  visited Bari or Venice. The Via Francigena was one of the main pilgrim routes to Rome and from Rome it continued  south to the port of Bari.  Bari was also  one of the departure points for the Holy Land and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Within Ireland local pilgrimages were made to holy wells dedicated to the saint  across the country.  I hope to discuss these pilgrimages further in another blog post.

Another likely place of pilgrimage  within Ireland is the deserted medieval town of Newtown Jerpoint Co Kilkenny. I visited   Newtown Jerpoint yesterday and had such a lovely time .  This unique site is in private ownership but it’s  owners Joe and Maeve O’Connell have opened this special place to the public. I highly recommend a visit here and if anyone is interested in visiting check out their website  www.jerpointpark.ie

Located close to the great  Cistercian  foundation of Jerpoint Abbey. The medieval town of  Newtown Jerpoint  was founded  c.1200,  shortly afterwards a church dedicated to St Nicholas was built to cater for the towns growing population.  The town fell out of use in the 17th century.  The remains of the town are   preserved today as a series of earthworks but the guided tour really makes the landscape come alive and you get a real sence of what the town was like .

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Artists reconstruction of the medieval town

So what of the sites connection with pilgrimage? Although extensive records for the town’s history exist there are no  references to medieval pilgrimage  here however tentative evidence may be suggested by the  tradition that St Nicholas of Myra was buried here.  The  Newtown Jerpoint conservation plan  notes that ‘according to local legend , there had been fourteen wine-taverns among the trading establishments of Jerpoint.’  There are some who think that the large amount of taverns may have existed to cater for pilgrims.

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View of St Nicholas’s church at Newtown Jerpoint

So tradition holds that St Nicholas’s grave is marked by  a large medieval  grave slab. The slab  has been dated to the early 14th century by John Hunt (1974, 197). The slab has an effigy of a cleric  dressed in a full chasuble (outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy), his hands are raised palm-outwards on his chest. On his feet are pointed shoes. Above each shoulder are two heads  one wearing a mitre-like head-dress and the other a pill-box type head-dress.

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14th century grave slab which local tradition holds marks the burial-place of St Nicholas

Local tradition holds that this figure depicts  St Nicholas and the heads are two crusaders who  brought the saints remains back to Ireland.  The tale tells of a band of Irish-Norman knights from Jerpoint, traveling to the Holy Land to take part in the Crusades. On their return  home to Ireland, they seized St Nicholas’ remains, bringing them back to Kilkenny, where the bones were buried.

Another version of the story tells of a French family, the de Frainets, who removed Nicholas’ remains from  Myra to Bari , in 1169 when Bari was under the Normans. The de Frainets were crusaders to the Holy Land and also owned land in Thomastown, Ireland. After the Normans were forced out of Bari, the de Frainets moved to Nice, France, taking the relics with them. When Normans lost power in France, the Nicholas de Frainets packed up once again, moving to Ireland. This story has the relics being buried in Jerpoint in 1200.

Like all legends   there is   probably some  truth to this.  I think it is unlikely that  the  body of St Nicholas  was brought here,  if it had  such an important saint would  most certainly have been placed in an elaborate shrine (most likely within the church). However it is my opinion that the church was  in possession  of  one if not two corporeal  relics  of  St Nicholas.  Norman knights from Kilkenny  did participated in the Crusades to the Holy Land so it is possible one or two  of them brought some relics back with them.  I think that over time this   legend developed and attached itself to the near by burial slab which most likely depicts a cleric associated with the church or nearby Jerpoint abbey. Recently a second grave slab of a similar date has been uncovered at the site and  it also depicts a cleric.

Any church in the possession of  a relic (s) had the potential of attracting pilgrims  and I see no reason why pilgrims would not have come here  to pray to St Nicholas.  A  holy well located a short distance from the church,  also   dedicated to St Nicholas  was another possible point of devotion and there was a tradition that the  water was a cure for skin complaints.

St Nicholas's holy well

St Nicholas’s holy well

Even if St Nicholas is not buried here Newtown Jerpoint is a very special place.  The  sites owner Joe told me he feels a strong connection with St Nicholas and the site and he suspects the saint is buried here. He also told me that  since the site has been open to the public there have been many  happy coincident  which have connected people,  the saint and the site. So  if you get the time take a visit to Newtown Jerpoint.

© Louise Nugent 2012

Bibliography

Bairéad, E.  2010. ‘Nicholas and Dublin’, In eds. Davies, M., MacConville, U. & Cooney, G. A grand gallimaufry: collected in honour of Nick Maxwell. Dublin: Wordwell.
Hunt, J. 1974. Irish Medieval Figure Sculpture. 1200-1600. Irish University Press.

http://jerpointpark.com/newtown-jerpoint-co-kilkenny-ireland/

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/ireland/#i_354

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/kale-church-of-st-nicholas-myra.htm

Click to access Newton_Jerpoint.pdf

Holycross Abbey: Medieval Pilgrimage and Historic Tours

Holycross was  one of the more popular pilgrim destinations in medieval Ireland. For centuries pilgrims travelled here to venerate the abbey’s sacred relic of the true cross,  which gave  its name to the Abbey.

View of Holycross Abbey from across the river

My last few posts have been about community archaeology projects and this post continues the theme.   The Holycross Community Network have trained  19 of their members as tour guides and will be running guided tours of the abbey, to help visitors  gain a greater appreciation of the abbeys history and  architectural features .

Tour guides Liz Nevin, Marie Byrne, John Bourke, Mike Carley and Adam Tozer

From now until easter the community is offering free guided tours of the abbey (further information holycrossabbeytours@gmail.com / 086-1665869). Being a bargain lover  I headed along with my friend Ciara to one of  the Saturday tours. The  tour  I attended was given by three guides Adam, Liz and John who  entertained us  all with a combination of historical facts  and folklore associated with the site, as well as pointing out  many of the hidden carvings and masons marks scattered around the church and other buildings.

The  full history of the abbey and its association with pilgrimage is too complex to discuss in detail here so I will just give a quick overview  of the abbeys history and association with pilgrimage.

Adam pointing out the whispering arch to visitors  in the cloister area

On the tour we learned that the abbey started out as a Benedictine Abbey (1169) , it was re-founded  as a Cistercian monastery in 1180  by  Domhnall Ó’Briain the King of Thomond  (Limerick).  The abbey was granted a charter in 1185-6, which confirmed lands totalling almost 8000 acres (Stalley 1987, 245). The charter mentions an older name for the area Ceall Uachtair Lamann. The name suggests the presence of early medieval church  in the area.

A copy of  the charter granting lands to Holycross Abbey

It is said that  the original relic  at Holycross was probably the same relic presented in 1110 by Pope Pascal II to Muirchertach Ó”Briain, Domhnall’s grandfather. The relic was likely gifted to abbey either in 1169 or 1181/2 by Domhnall Mór Ó’ Briain. Over time the relic became an object of veneration and attracted large numbers of pilgrims. Scholars believe that there may have been at one time  up to three  relic here at the Abbey (Ó’Conbhuidhe 1999, 166; Halpin & Newmans 2006, 388).

View of  cloister arch

Peter Harbison (1992, 305)  is of the opinion that the later rebuilding was  financed by the stream of pilgrims who came here to venerate the cross. This was also a period when the abbey enjoyed the patronage of the Earl of Ormond, James Butler ,so I am sure this patronage also contributed to the revamp of the abbey. The re-modelling of pilgrim sites  was often the result of increased numbers of pilgrims or the desire to attract more pilgrims.  Alterations were often designed to make the relics more visible and accessible to the multitudes.

Romanesque doorway leading from cloister into the church

The church was  entered from the cloister through an Romanesque style doorway. The cloister and domestic buildings of the monks would have been off-limits to pilgrims who would have entered the church through the western doorway.

The abbey church is  cruciform in plan, with intricate vaulted ceilings.

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Vaulted ceiling in the transept of the church, photo taken prior to restoration. Edwin Rae Photo archive http://hdl.handle.net/2262/40640

There are many interesting features within the church, too many to mention here.  One worth noting is  a beautifully decorated sedilia, traditionally called the ‘Tomb of the Good Woman’s Son’. The sedilia is located within the chancel of the church. The base is highly decorated  and the top of the structure has a series of shields/coats of arms;   the  abbey, the Butler arms and the FitzGerald arms  and the royal arms of England (Stalley 1987, 115).  In the medieval church, the  sedilia functioned as a  stone seat, it was used by priest officiating at the  mass. Over time a colourful legend about the ‘Good Woman’s son’ developed around the sedilia. The earliest recorded version of the tale dates to the mid 17th century. The tale recounts an English prince (some accounts name him as the son Henry II)  travelling through the Holycross area collecting St Peter’s pence, he was killed by an O’Forgarty, the ruling Gaelic family in the area and buried where he fell in a wood called Kylechoundowney (Hayes 2011, 10-12). Some years later a blind monk at the abbey had three visions directing him to go to the wood. Having explained his visions to the abbot, he was given permission to set forth and investigate.  Having reached the wood the blind man’s companion saw a hand sticking out from the ground. The blind monk miraculously returned his sight and a spring of water burst forth from the ground  (ibid). The body was brought back to Holycross and buried and the young man’s mother upon hearing the news  gifted the abbey a relic of the true cross (ibid). This   legend may have developed following the acquisition of a second relic of the true cross.

sedilia known as the Good Woman’s Tomb

Another very interesting feature is an elaborately carved tomb-like structure called the  ‘Waking Bier of the Monks’, situated between the two south transept chapels. Stalley(1987, 116), suggests that it may have possibly functioned as an elaborate shrine where one of the  relics of the True Cross could be viewed through the open-work  canopy .  The base of the  stucture (shrine)  resembles a tomb chest and  the upper section with its canopy, arcades  resembles  English shrines  such as St Albans, St Edward the Confessor at Westminster and St Swithun at Winchester. Hayes (2011, 105)  notes also that Dr Dagmar O’Riain-Raedel suggest the it may also have functioned  as the sepulchrum Domini (the Lords tomb), where following the Good Friday liturgy the relics of the cross and the consecrated Host were placed here to symbolise the burial of Christ  after the crucifixion.  Architectural fragments suggest a  second  shrine  which may  also have displayed a second relic of the cross. These fragments are  not on display at present in the abbey but it  was recorded in 1913, prior to renovations, as being located in the north-west angle of the north transept.  Both structures are contemporary and date to the main period of rebuilding.

Liz telling us the history of the ‘Waking Bier’

The earliest reference to pilgrimage is found in the Papal letters of 1488.  The letters mention ‘the oblations which are made by the faithful to the wood of the Holy Cross in the church of the same monastery and which are collected by collectors appointed for the purpose’. This reference implies that the pilgrimage was well established by 1488. Pilgrims often brought gifts to the shrine, animals, foodstuffs and in the later medieval period coins and wax votives and candles.

The Ormond relic’ a 15th century reliquary containing a relic of the true cross

The presence of ‘collectors’ implies that  significant numbers of people arrived with offerings. We  can only guess how pilgrims would have interacted with the  holy relic but given that this was a working monastery, the monks would have controlled the access of pilgrims ensuring that they did not dispute their daily prayers.  The pilgrims who came here were from all social classes and  came seeking healing both  physical and spiritual for themselves or loved ones, to ask protection and help in times of crisis,   to experience a miracle, others came out of devotion to God, some came out of  curiosity, others to experience to social side of the pilgrimage .

The main burst of devotion would have focused on feasts connected with the holy cross such as  the 3rd of May, the feast marking the finding of the cross and the 14th of September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (Exaltatio Sanctae Crucis)  a feast greatly observed in the medieval world and Easter.

The abbey also held one of its two annual fairs on the 14th of September,  most likely to take advantage of the large numbers of pilgrims.  A common practice at other pilgrim sites, the fair offered pilgrims a chance to combine prayer and devotion with  more secular pleasures. Medieval fairs were often associated with other activities, such as games and matchmaking and there are many parallels to the descriptions of pattern day festivities associated with mass pilgrimages of the 18th and 19th centuries. From medieval times, the area also has strong links with St Michael whose feast was the 29th of September . So September was a busy month for Holycross.  On special occasions like the feast of the cross,  the relic(s) at Holycross would have been displayed within the church either in the two shrines noted above or possibly displayed in a Rood Screen or the high altar.  It may also be possible that  relics were brought on procession  on busy feast days, as happens still with the relics of St Willibrod in Belgium.

Relics were not just a focus of devotion,  they were also used  in the swearing of oaths  and they were used to ward off evil, pestilence and plague. There are 16th-17th century references to the Holycross relic of the cross being brough out of the abbey as far away as Kilkenny to swear oaths on and even to improve fertility of crops  and there still survives a late medieval image depicting the relic of the True Cross at Holycross, being carried suspended from the abbot’s neck .

15th century window

Unlike many other Irish shrines pilgrimage at Holycross did not end with the reformation.   The relics at the abbey which also included a miraculous statue of the Blessed Virgin,  escaped  destruction by the reformers possibly because of the abbeys connections with the Bulters and there are many references and accounts of pilgrimage at Holycross post-dating the reformation.

Carving of an owl at centre of the church

To   briefly mention just a  few references to post reformation pilgrimage;  in   1567  the Lord deputy complaining to the Queen wrote  ‘there is no small conflunence of people still resorting to the holy cross’. In 1579 James Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald is said to have venerated the relic  of the cross at the abbey a few weeks before his death at the hands of the Burkes, while 1583 Dermot O’Hurley archbishop of Cashel made a pilgrimage to the shrine shortly before his capture by the English. The relic of the cross would have attracted people from all classes  and in 1586 Camden writes of the ‘famous abbey’ to which the people still come to do reverence to the relic of the Holy Cross’. He goes on to say ‘It is incredible what a concourse of  people still throng hither out of devotion. For this nation obstinately adheres to the religion of superstition of their forefathers.’

Holycross Abbey, Thurles, County Tipperary - Pre Restoration

Holycross Abbey, Thurles, County Tipperary – Pre Restoration Image from the Edwin Rae Photo archive http://hdl.handle.net/2262/40632

The reformation began the decline of the  religious community at Holycross. In 1534 Willian Dywer, then Abbot, resigned his office  to Philip Purcell and the abbey became a provostry rather than a Cistercian abbey. By the 17th century the abbey had fallen into ruins and links with the Cistercians were finally broken with the death of Fr Edmond Coogan in  c1740.

The abbey and its church remained in ruins until the 1970’s when a  special act of parliament known as the HOLYCROSS ABBEY (COUNTY TIPPERARY) ACT, 1969 (http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1969/en/act/pub/0007/print.html), allowed  for its re-consecration and restoration. This process is described in fully in an excellent book Holycross. The Awakening of the Abbey, by William Hayes details this process. There is lots more to add about the pilgrimage tradition and I will hopefully discuss it further in the coming months.

View of the restored  abbey church from the cloister

© Louise Nugent 2012

References

Halpin,  A. & Newman, C. 2006. Ireland. An Oxford Archaeological Guide to Sites

  from the Earliest Times to AD 1600. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Harbison, P. 1991. Pilgrimage in Ireland. The monuments and the people. London:

Syracuse University Press.

Harbison, P. 1992. Guide to National and Historic Monuments of Ireland. Dublin:

Gill & Macmillian.

Nugent, L. 2009. Pilgrimage in Medieval Ireland, AD 600-1600. Vol.1-3.Unpublished PhD Thesis, University College Dublin.

Stalley, R.1987. The Cistercian monasteries of Ireland: an account of the history, art

  and architecture of the white monks in Ireland from 1142-1540. London: Yale U.P.

Graveyard recording at Newcastle

This week I  headed along to  another historic graveyard at Middlequarter,  Newcastle, Co. Tipperary.  The old graveyard at Newcastle  along with the graveyards at Molough, Shanrahan and Tubrid, are  currently being recorded by local community groups trained by Historic Graves (http://historicgraves.ie/).

The Medieval Church and graveyard at Middlequarter, Newcastle, image taken from Bing maps

Newcastle graveyard  is located close  to  the Anglo-Norman castle which gives its name to the area.  The remains of the castle consist of a  hall house with a vaulted roof, a tower and a bawn. The castle  is strategically located  on the banks of the River Suir close to the fording point .  The castle  is  part of a group  of 12th -13th castles  built in a line along foothills  of the Knockmealdown mountains. This  area was the  frontier  between the Anglo-Norman territory and the Gaelic territory of the Déises . Newcastle was in the control of the Prendergast family from the 13th to the 17th century, it then  passed into the hands of  the Perry’s family.

View of Newcastle castle from the nearby graveyard

The historic graveyard  surrounds  a 12th /13th century church, which functioned as the medieval parish/manorial church .

The medieval church at Newcastle

Newcastle church is one of the largest medieval parish churches in the surrounding area, being 29m  in length and 10m in width. Any past dedication to a saint has long been forgotten and today the church is simply known as the old church.

Southern doorway of the church

The church is entered through two ornate doorways  at the west end of the church, located in the  north and south wall.  The south doorway is simpler in design with a moulded surround. The north doorway is slightly taller and has roll and fillet-mouldings with traces of hood- moulding over the apex of the door. Both doors are directly opposite each other.

The North doorway of the church at Newcastle

There is no evidence of an internal division   between the chancel and the nave within the church, nor is there any traces of a choir.

The east gable  of the church is now partially collapsed. Luckily the Ordnance Survey Letters of 1840 provide the following decription

Its east window is in the pointed style and constructed of brownish sandstone chiselled… 6 feet in height and 1 foot 8 inches in width. It is divided into two compartments the stone which separates them has been removed (O’Flanagan 1930 Vol.1,  22)

View from window at NE end of the church

The  Ordnance Survey letters also state that ‘ the church was burnt by a Prendergast who lived in Curraghcloney Castle’  (O’Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 23).  However today  many   local people tell the tale, that it was Cromwell  who burned the church .

Volunteers recording gravestones at Newcastle

The graveyard  has a mixture of 18th , 19th and 20th century graves, including some very recent ones. In total there are  204  grave markers in  the graveyard.

Volunteers recording a gravestone

It is difficult to decide which gravestones to include here  as there are so many interesting ones. The stone below was carved in  1755  to commemorate the death of Denis Morison.

A simple gravestone dating to 1755

Some of the early gravestones have lovely decoration. The  stone below depicts the crucifixion scene and a stone by the same mason has been identified in Shanrahan & Tullaghmelan graveyards.

Crucifixion imagery on the gravestone of Daniel Long of Neddins died 1817

The interior of the  church is packed with approximately 60 burials. At the east end are three unusual  burials. A chest tomb sits in the NE corner of the church. The  inscription of the tomb is worn away and impossible to read.  O’ Hallian  in his book Tales from the Deise  gives the following   account of the inscription

Here lyeth the body of Jeffry Prendergast of Mullough in the county of Tipperary who served in Flanders as Captain under the Great Duke of Marlbourugh, from  whom he had the honour of reciting public thanks for his services at the siege of Ayr in 1710. Died 1713. he was an affectionate husband and tender father, in friendship steady and sincere; to all beneath him courteous, truly just and therefore universally esteemed and beloved. He lived under the influence of religion and died cheerfully supported by it the  27th day of March in the 64th year of his life.

Chest tomb of Jeffery Prendergast

John Burke’s A Genealogical and Heraldic History of Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies….. records that Jeffrey’s father Thomas Prendergast, esq was born in 1614 and married Elinor the sister of Walter the 11th Earl of Ormond. The text also says  Thomas died in 1725, aged 111 years ‘as appears on his tombstone at Newcastle, near Clonmel’.  Once the survey is complete if the tombstone commemorating Thomas survives I am sure the volunteers will uncover it.  I would wonder if he was not interred with his son Jeffery.

Beside the Prendergast tomb are two grave slabs which I recorded as part of a project for  college in 1998.  The  inscription on slabs have  deteriorated since  I last visited here. One  has a motif of  a horse standing on its hind legs in an oval frame. This is the grave of Samuel Hobson sq of Muckridge,  who died in 1782.  The second slab records the burial of ‘Lieu Henry Prendergast of Mulough’ and his wife who died in 1776 , along with  their a coat of arms.

Crest on the Prendergast grave slab

© Louise Nugent 2012

References

Hallinan, M, 1996. Tales from the Deise: an anthology on the history and heritage of Newcastle, the Nire Valley, and especially the Parish of Newcastle and Four-Mile-Water. Dublin: Kincora Press.

O’ Flanagan, Rev. M. (compiler) 1930. Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Tipperary collected during the progress of the Ordnance  Survey in 1840. 3 Vols. Bray: Typescript.

Power, Rev. P. 1937. Waterford and Lismore; a compendious history of the united

  dioceses. Cork: Cork University Press.

Okyle church in Co Waterford

At the moment I am writing a talk about the Rian Bó Phádraig an ancient road connecting , Co. Tipperary to Kilwatermoy in the county of Co Waterford .  Last  weekend I was out walking along part of the Waterford route. I also managed to  dropped by one of my favourite sites, the ruins of a medieval Church in the townland of  Okyle.  The name Okyle or Ógchoill  translates as  “Young Wood” ( http://www.logainm.ie/50107.aspx).

The only surviving wall of Okyle church.

The townland  is located in the ancient parish of Lismore and  Mocollop. I have not been able to find a saint associated with the site.  At present all that remains  of the church is the east gable. According to the   information plaque at the site, this church functioned as a chapel-of-Ease  for  Mocollop parish. A chapel of ease,  was a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who could not reach the parish church conveniently.

15th-century, twin-light tracery window

The surviving east  gable has a lovely 15th-century, twin-light tracery window. A small cell is attached to the north end of the gable.

Cell attached to the north-east gable of the church

The cell most likely functioned as an anchorite cell and is one of the very few examples found in  Ireland. The  cell was  entered from inside the church through a small doorway with a flat lintel.  The roof of the cell is slightly corbelled.

Possible gun-loop at the NE side of cell

The cell is sub-oval  in shape. It is very curious   that  there are three gun loops in the walls.

Gun loop in the east wall

Power in 1898,  recorded that the cell was known locally as Tigh Chloiche or the stone house.

Interior of cell showing the gun loops

In 1840 the ordnance survey letters described the church as follows:

 

Only its east gable and thirty feet of the length of the north wall remain. It was twenty one feet in breadth, but its length cannot be ascertained as no part of the west gable is traceable. The east window is formed of cuts and stone and pointed on both sides; it measures on the inside nine feet seven inches in height and five feet four inches in width and on the outside, where it was divided into two lights by a stone mullion, seven feet three inches by two feet nine inches, each division (light) one foot two and a half inches. In the north-east angle is a small apartment, apparently a hermit’s cell or Duirtheach…There was a window in the north wall of this Church at the distance of four feet from the east gable; it was formed of cut stone and was two feet six inches wide in the inside but it is destroyed at top and on the outside. The north wall is nine feet high, three feet four inches thick and built of pebble stones of all shapes, kinds and sizes laid in irregular courses in a very rude style; it nods a good deal from the perpendicular, the foundation having given way…(O’Flanagan 1929, 144-145).

The third ed.   6-inch map  1927  records a holy well called  Tobar an Turais – the well of the pilgrimage c. 700m to the SW of the church (Power 1898, 218). The Waterford Inventory recorded that it is not visible at ground level .  In 1900’s Power notes its presence in the book the Placenames of the Decies but noted that ‘it was not much visted now’.  I think this is a site I will have to look into further.