The Holy Well and Medieval Church at Drumcoo, Co Galway

Dec27

St Sourney (Sairnait in Irish), is the patron saint of the holy well and medieval church at Drumacoo, Co Galway (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 34). Sourney was a holy woman who lived in Ireland during the sixth century, little is known about her life. She is also the patron of the small early medieval church of Teampall Asurnaí (St Sourney’s Church) at the village of Eochaill on Inismore. Tradition holds she also founded a monastery at Drumcoo during lifetime. Her feast day was celebrated on the 3rd May.

The schools collection for Ballinderreen, Co. Galway record an interesting folk tale relating to the saint.

Saint Surney sent one of her servants to Island Eddy for a coal, the servant went and she got the coal from the woman of the house who put it into her pinafore and as she was coming home the coal burned ahole in her pinafore. The saint was vexed when she saw the hole and she cursed Island Eddy and she said that anyone would come from island Eddy to Arran with a dry feet and the sea came between Island Eddy and Arran and the people never come out without a boat. Saint Surney was a very holy woman and she never cursed until she cursed Island Eddy. A little girl always stayed with the saint till after her death. The saint used to pray for hours every day and every one knew she was a saint because she used to pray very often.
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0033B, Page 03_004

The modern visitor to Drumcoo will find a multi-period church surrounded by a later historic graveyard.

2927 — View of St Sourney’s Church, the site of an early medieval monastery at Drumacoo, Co Galway

The oldest part of Drumcoo church can be seen in the north wall and the west gable. The style of masonry and the flat lintel doorway (trabeate doorway) suggest the presence of a simple pre-Romanesque style stone church that was later modified.

The southern wall is later and dates to around the mid thirteenth century. This wall has a very fine pointed doorway with intricately carved features including the heads of a number of cats. The door is the work of a very skilled crafts person.

The beautiful S. door is one of the minor masterpieces of the Connacht Transitional style and seems, like the E. windows, to be the work of the Boyle-Cong-Knockmoy-Corcomroe school of masons.
(Killanin & Duigan 1967, 318).

The east gable of the church has two fine carved single-light windows, one of which was blocked up. On either side of the windows are finely carved pointed aumbry.

View of the east gable in the interior of Drumcoo Church

A large and striking mausoleum built in 1830, is attached to the north eastern end of the church. The mausoleum was built to house the bodies of Arthur and Harriet St George.

The earliest recorded evidence of pilgrimage at Drumcoo dates to the nineteenth century, but its likely the tradition of pilgrimage was much older.

The 1st edition Ordnance Survey map shows an extensive pilgrim landscape surrounds the church, a holy bush, a saints bed and the holy well, all were dedicated to St Sourney.

1st edition Ordnance Survey map for Drumcoo

The contemporary Ordnance Survey Letters Co Galway (1838) also records these religious stations.

Sórnach [Sourney] whose Bed (Leabaidh), bush (tseach) and well (tobar) are shewn in the townland of Drumacoo.
(Herity 2009, 75)

St Sourney’s bush does not appear on later ordnance survey maps suggesting devotions and local interest in the tree ceased after this time.

St Sourney’s bed was described in 1890 as

one of those stone cells in which many of our early Saints loved to do penance. It measures about 6 feet [1.83m] in length by 4 [1.22m] in width externally.
(Fahey 1893, 33)

In 1980’s the bed was described as

completely ivy-covered and consisted of a rectangular mass of stone (L 2.6m; Wth 2m; H 1.7m) aligned N-S. According to local information, it was subsequently destroyed during a graveyard clean-up.
Galway Archaeological Survey, UCG

Only St Sourney’s holy well has survived, although it was rebuilt in the 1980’s using stones from St Sourney’s bed.

The well was recently rebuilt by a work crew who unfortunately took the stones to build it from what was reputedly St. Sairnait’s cell or ‘bed’
https://www.visitgalway.ie/explore/religious-and-spiritual/holy-wells/st-sourneys-well/

The holy well is located a short distance to the southwest of the medieval church. The well is enclosed by a circular stone wall.

St Sourney’s Holy Well Drumcoo Co Galway

A gap in the wall provided access into a circular area covered by gravel. The holy well sits at the centre, below ground level. Stone steps provide access to the stone lined interior of the well. When I visited the well it was dry.

Interior of the Sourney’s Holy Well Drumcoo

Its was said that the wells water was an effective cure for a pain in the head. In the 1930’s those in search of healing would visit the holy well and devotions performed on two consecutive Mondays and the intervening Thursday.

If a person is subject to a constant headache he goes to this well for a cure. He goes to the well three times, on Monday,Thursday and the following Monday. Every time he visits the well he should leave something, if only a button, on a bank of earth which is raised beside the well.
He says certain prayers at the well, then he brings a bottle of water from the well and washes his forehead with it every day.
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0033B, Page 01_047

Details of the pilgrim rounds at St Sourney’s Holy Well

Bibliography

Fahey, J.A. 1893 (Reprint 1986) The history and antiquities of the diocese of Kilmacduagh. Galway. Kenny Gallery.

Galway Archaeological Survey, UCG. Church GA103-118001, https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment/

Higgins, J.G. 1987 The Early Christian cross slabs, pillar stones and related monuments of County Galway, Ireland, 2 vols. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 375. Oxford.

Herity, M. 2009. Ordnance Survey Letters Galway. Dublin: Fourmasters Press

Killanin, M.M. and Duignan, M.V. 1967 (2nd ed.) The Shell guide to Ireland. London. The Ebury Press.

Harbison, P. 1970 (Reprint 1992) Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin. Gill and Macmillan.

http://www.visitgalway.ie/explore/religious-and-spiritual/holy-wells/st-sourneys-well/

St Ailbe’s Holy Well, Emly Co Tipperary

Nov22

Over the last few years, I’ve visited alot of holy wells all over around Ireland. St Ailbe’s holy well in the village of Emly Co Tipperary is one of the most interesting.

The village of Emly can trace its origins back to a monastery founded by the Pre-Patrican saint known as Ailbe. The saint’s death is recorded for the year 528 in the Irish annals.

Repose of Ailbe of Imlech Ibuir
The Annals of Ulster 528

His monastery known as Imleach Iubhair ‘the lakeside at a yew tree’ went on to become one of the most important ecclesiastical sites in Munster and in later centuries Emly became a Diocesan centre.

The ecclesiastical site was located at the modern Catholic church and graveyard. Unfortunately little of the early or medieval ecclesiastical remains have survived.

The annals provide some insight into what Emly would have looked like. In 1058 the great stone church (daimhliag) and the round tower (cloictheach) were burnt.

Imleach-Ibhair was totally burned, both Daimhliag and Cloictheach.
Annals of the Four Masters 1058

A circular enclosure surrounded the main ecclesiastical buildings. The outline of the enclosure is still preserved in the modern road and field pattern surrounding the catholic church (Farrelly 2014).

Aerial view of the village of Emly Bing Maps

Further traces of the medieval past survive in architectural fragments incorporated into the modern graveyard wall. A stone plaque close to the main entrance to the graveyard and church which bears the inscription

LOCVS IN QVEM INTRAS TERRA SANCTA EST 1641 R. IONES PCENT

The inscription roughly translates as ‘The place wherein you enter is holy ground’ (Farrelly 2014 after pers. comm. Gerard Crotty).

A medieval stoup, ‘consisting of bowl, shaft and base, composed of a conglomeration of sandstone, granite and quartz’ sits at the east door to the modern church (Farrelly 2014).

Medieval Stoup at eastern doorway at St Ailbe’s church Emly

The wall to the right of the entrance to the east end of the church incorporates two carved heads from the former medieval cathedral, along with the base of a medieval graveslab. All date to the 13th/14th-century (Farrelly 2014).

Medieval carved stone heads and graveslab in the wall opposite east door of the modern church.

St Ailbe’s holy well can be found in the north-eastern corner of the graveyard. It was probably used as a water source for the religious community. In 1898 the well supplied the surrounding village with water.

Image of St Ailbe’s holy well 1898 from Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1898, Vol. 4, No. 39 page 174.

St Ailbe’s well is a very deep spring found at the base of 5m deep circular dry-stone lined shaft (internal diameter of 1.2m). The Ordnance Survey Letter for County Tipperary written in the 1840’s suggests the well was 7m deep. The upper section of the shaft was replaced in the nineteenth century by a cut limestone surround. Accounts from the late 1890s recall that a railing surrounded the well.

During the twentieth century the top of the well was covered by low concrete capping, incorporating a metal door/hatch. Today hatch provides a view into the interior of the well.

Due to the depth of the well a torch is required to see the interior in any detail . At the base of the well you can still see the water.

According to folklore the well was formed when

St. Ailbe jumped from the top of the hill of Knockcarron to where the well stands now and that is what caused the well to be there.
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0580, Page 013

The well is still visited by local people throughout the year but rounds are no longer performed.

View of interior of St Ailbe’s holy well with flash

I have not come across any medieval references to pilgrimage at the well. Rounds were performed by pilgrims up to the middle of the twentieth century. Local folk memory recalls that a pattern day was held at the well on the 12^th of September, the feast of St Ailbe.

Local memory and historical sources suggest that in the past the pilgrimage rituals were focused on the holy well and an early medieval cross, known as St Ailbe’s Cross. The cross is located a short distance from the well.

Tradition held that the cross marked the saints grave (The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0580, Page 011). The cross is made of sandstone and has an imperforate ringed cross. A small stone sits on top of the cross.

In the past pilgrims traditionally visited the holy well on the feast day of St Ailbe or within the Octave of his feast day.

In the 1930’s, pilgrims began their prayers by saying five Our Fathers and Hail Marys at the holy well. They then recited three rosaries while walking around the graveyard. If the pilgrim visited on a day other than the feast they carried out the same prayers at the holy well but recited nine rosaries while walking clockwise around the graveyard. Other accounts recall pilgrims walking around the well nine times and every three times they circle the well they say the rosary. They then made five rounds around the graveyard reciting the rosary on each round.

Pilgrims also visited St Ailbe’s cross. Its was tradition for all who passed the cross to make Sign of the Cross.

The Sign of the Cross is made by the people on it with three stones which are laid on top of it. Long ago the people used swear by the Holy Stone of Emly. Every time people respect it as they pass it by carving a cross on it with stones.
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0580, Page 016

The cross was also said to cure back pain when the back was pressed against the cross and a prayer to the saint uttered. People without back pain performed the same ritual to strengthen their backs.

When a person has a pain in his back he would get it cured by putting his back against the stone and praying to St Ailbe. When a person has no pain in his back and to do the same it would strengthen his back.
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0580, Page 016

The waters of the well are said to be a cure for rheumatism and also to repeal birds from damaging crops.

People take the water from the well to drink. When St Ailbe was young he was sent into a garden to keep birds off of it and since that people go to the well, and take water from it and sprinkle it on the corn to keep the birds away.
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0580, Page 013

Although there are no records relating to pilgrimage during medieval times, Emly would surely have possessed relics of the saint and attracted pilgrims. Perhaps the tradition of devotion to the holy well and cross may be much older then the nineteenth century.

Bibliography

Farrelly, J. 2014. TS065-013 (Emly) https://maps.archaeology.ie/HistoricEnvironment/

Long, R. H. 1998. ‘Cashel and Emly Diocese. With a pedigree of Cellachan, king of Cashel, and an account of some other kings of Munster’ Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1898, Vol. 4, No. 39, 170-185.

O’Dwyer, M. and O’Dwyer, L. 1987. The parish of Emly: its history and heritage.

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. Bray.

Irish Tourist Association, ‘Emly Irish Tourist Association Report,’ Tipperary Archive, accessed November 8, 2020, http://www.tippstudiesdigital.ie/items/show/1147.

Websites

Schools Collections https://www.duchas.ie

https://www.logainm.ie

Pilgrimage to St Mullins Co. Carlow during the Black Death

May8

Throughout the medieval period many people made pilgrimage in times of crisis such as personal illness, outbreaks of disease and natural disasters like drought. The Black Death was one of the biggest crisis to be faced by people during the fourteenth century in Ireland.

The Annals of Ireland written between 1333-1349 by John Clyn, a Franciscan friar of Kilkenny, contains a chilling first hand account of the Black Death as it raged through Ireland.

The text also records a very rare account of pilgrimage to the ecclesiastical site of St Mullins whose ruins are now at the centre of a picturesque village of the same name in Co. Carlow.

Image may contain: grass, outdoor and nature

Remains of St Moling’s ecclesiastical site along side the Anglo Norman motte at St Mullins Co. Carlow ( image from SMART (St. Mullins Amenity & Recreational Tourism Group) Facebook Page.

The ecclesiastical site of St Mullins traces its history back to the seventh century, when St Moling founded a monastery on the banks of the river Barrow. Following the saints death his monastery went on to become one of the most importance pilgrim sites in Leinster.

In the year in 1348 John Clyn recorded great numbers of pilgrims arriving at St Mullins. The pilgrims were drawn here because of St Moling reputation for healing and miracles. They hoped that by praying to the saint in the presence of his relics they might be protected from the plague.

This year, and chiefly in the months of September and October, great numbers of bishops and prelates, ecclesiastical and religious, peers and others, and in general people of both sexes, flocked together by troops to the pilgrimage and wading of the water at Tigh Moling [St Mullins] so that many thousands might be seen there together for many days; some came out of devotion, but the greater part for fear of the pestilence which raged at that time with great violence….” ( Williams 2007, 246).

The pilgrims made their prayers at St Moling’s holy well and millrace located just outside the main monastic enclosure. The twelfth Latin Life of St Moling, recalls how the saint single handed dug the mill race over seven years and then consecrated ‘…by walking through it against the flood…’. The pilgrims hoped that by washing or ‘wading’ in the of the waters of the millrace and the holy well they would be protected from the plague. We do not know how the pilgrims fared in the coming months how many died or survived.

St Moling’s Holy Well Co Carlow

Interior of well house an early medieval baptisimal church at St Mullens Co Carlow

Remains of the medieval millrace at St Mullen’s Co Carlow

The plague spread rapidly after its arrival to Ireland. In June of 1349 Clyn wrote that the pestilence was so contagious that those who ‘touched the dead or the sick were immediately affected themselves and died’. Shortly after writing the description below Clyn contracted the disease and died.

Many died of boils, abscesses and pustules which erupted on the legs and in the armpits. Others died in frenzy, brought on by an affliction of the head, or vomiting blood. This amazing year was outside the usual order of things, exceptional in quite contradictory ways – abundantly fertile and yet at the same time sickly and deadly… It was very rare for just one person to die in a house, usually, husband, wife, children and servants all went the same way, the way of death… (Williams 2007, 250).

St Moling’s holy well along with the medieval millrace can still be seen in the modern landscape at St Mullins. St Moling’s holy well is still a focus of modern pilgrimage on the second Sunday of July. If anyone who wants to find out more about the medieval pilgrimage at St Mullins check out my new book Journeys of Faith. Stories of Pilgrimage in Medieval Ireland.

Bibliography

Nugent, Louise. Journeys of Faith. Stories of Pilgrimage From Medieval Ireland. Dublin: Columba Books, 2020.

Williams, Bernadette. The Annals of Friar John Clyn. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007.

A visit to Askeaton Friary

Apr30

A few weeks back I paid a visit to the wonderful Askeaton Friary in Co Limerick.

Askeaton Friary Co Limerick

The friary is located on the banks of the river Deel, at the edge of town just off the N69. According to the Monastic Ireland website The friary was founded in the year 1389 by either Gerald Fitzgerald the 3rd earl of Desmond and Lord Justice of Ireland, or in 1420 by James Fitzgerald the 7th earl of Desmond.

The friary seems to have survived the dissolution and a provincial chapter was held here in 1564. Shortly afterwards during the Desmond Wars the friary was taken over by Nicholas Malby and the friars were expelled.

The ruins of the friary are extensive and in a very good state of repair. The ruins date primarily to the fourteenth and fifteenth century and include a cloister, church and domestic buildings.

Plan of remains of Askeaton Friary showing building phases.

Today the friary is accessed through a modern graveyard on the east side of the monastic remains.

Door leading into the cloister in the south wall.

To enter the interior of the ruins and the cloister one must pass through a finely fifteenth century pointed doorway in the south wall. This doorway is opposite a spiral staircase that provides acces to the upper story of the east range.

Doorway on the east side south wall providing access to the cloister and the east range at Askeaton Friary.

As you enter this doorway and turn left you find an extremely well-preserved to the cloister.

Cloister at Askeaton Friary.

Covered walkway of cloister at Askeaton Friary.

Rectangular area surrounded by cloister at Askeaton Friary.

Rectangular area surrounded by cloister at Askeaton Friary

Covered walkway of cloister at Askeaton Friary.

The cloister consists of a central rectangular area surrounded by a covered walkway. The cloister was the heart of the monastery, a place of quiet contemplation and the means of communication between the monastic church and domestic buildings.

At Askeaton the cloister walkway has very finely carved arches. Each arch is composed of columns with moulded bases and capitals. In the northeast corner of the cloister, there is a carving of St Francis the patron saint of the Franciscan order. The saint is depicted in monastic robes with stigmata.

Stigmata in the hand St Francis in the clositer of Askeaton Friary.

Carving of St Francis in the northeast corner of the cloister at Askeaton Friary..

The cloister provides access to the church and the domestic buildings through a series of doors. The nave of the church is entered through a lovely pointed doorway with beautiful carvings on the base.

Doorway into the nave church at Askeaton Friary.

Finely carved decoration at the base of the doorway leading into the church at Askeaton Friary..

Finely carved decoration at the base of the doorway leading into the church at Askeaton Friary.

The church is a long building of fourteenth century date with an undivided nave and chancel.

View of the nave of the church from south end church at Askeaton Friary.

Five light tracery east window at church in Askeaton Friary..

The church has some very interesting features, including a triple sedilia and choir stalls in the east end of the south wall.

Triple sedilia and choir stalls in the east wall of the church.

Above the sedilia is a large plaque sixteenth century date, contemporary carved stones some and a second plaque (later insertions) and a finely carved tracery window.

Carved stones located above triple sedilia at Askeaton Friary.

Series of carved stones including plaques with writing inserted into the northeast corner of the church at Askeaton Friary.

Carving with floral design inserted above sedilia in northeast corner of the churchat Askeaton Friary.

The walls of the church still retain a number of hooded tomb niches, three in the south wall and one in the north wall.

Tomb niche in south wall of chancel of church , with door leading to cloister at Askeaton Friary.

Tomh niche in north wall of church at Askeaton Friary. The door leading to the sacristry.

View of two of the tomb niches in the south wall of the friary church at Askeaton.

The church also has some very finely carved tracery windows.

Window in the southeast corner of church at Askeaton Friary.

Carved decoration at base of window in the southeast corner of church at Askeaton Friary.

Window in west wall of transepth at Askeaton Friary.

Five light tracery east window at church in Askeaton Friary..

Finely carved window in south wall of church at Askeaton Friary.

The remains of a later fifteenth century transept are found at the northwest end of the church building.

The transept provided space for additional altars dedicated to various saints and serving as mortuary, burial or chantry chapels for the community’s benefactors. In friaries the transept was often the location of a shrine to the Virgin Mary and was known as the Lady Chapel. (Monastic Ireland website)

A pointed doorway in the north wall connects the chancel to the sacristy. At the base of the doorways is a spiral carving. I wonder if it is a masons mark.

Doorway leading to the sacristry at Askeaton Friary.

Tiny carving of a spiral at the base of the doorway leading into sacristry at Askeaton Friary.

The sacristy has two floors. The ground floor was roofed with a barrel vault. The partial remains of the vaulting can still be seen in the north wall and a fireplace survives in this wall. The east gable gable wall is the most intact part of this room and contains a fine twin-light window,

Sacristry at Askeaton Friary.

Remains of barrel vaulted ceiling at Askeaton Friary.

View of sacristry at Askeaton Friary.

Behind the sacristy is a large green area marked as the ‘old graveyard’ on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map is located behind the church and sacristy. There are some large chunks of masonry from the transept walls scattered around the graveyard.

Chunks of masonry from transept of the church at Askeaton Friary.

Green area on the north side of Askeaton Friary.

The domestic building of the friary also survive and are found on the east and west side of the clositer.

The east range includes the monastic kitchen. It is a two stories and the ground floor is roofed with a long barrel-vaulted ceiling. A finely carved fireplace is located towards the north end of the east wall.

Ground floor of east range at Askeaton Friary.

Large finely carved fireplace in the east wall of east range at Askeaton Friary..

Possible oven in the east range of Askeaton Friary.

Chimmney flue in east range at Askeaton Friary.

The refectory or dining room,juts out of the southeast corner of the cloister. It is two stories in height and dates to circa fifteenth century.

Refectory jutting out of the southeast corner of clositer at Askeaton Friary.

Interior of refectory at Akeaton Friary.

The chapter room where monks conducted business also survives and is in good condition. It was locked when I visited so I could only peek in through the metal gate. with in the area are the tombs of the martyrs Bishop Patrick O’Healy and Fr Conn O’Rourke.

According to the wonderful Monastic Ireland website

A very fragmentary painting survives in the upper floor of the domestic ranges – a space that would have been reserved for the friars. It depicts a devotional image of the ‘Man of Sorrows’- showing Christ surrounded by the instruments of his Passion (http://www.monastic.ie/tour/askeaton-franciscan-friary/).

External west wall of refectory at Askeaton friary

Exterior wall of west gable of the church and chapter house at Askeaton friary.

View of River Deel at Askeaton Friary.

For a more in-depth discussion of the site check out the wonderful Monastic Ireland website.

References

http://www.monastic.ie/tour/askeaton-franciscan-friary/

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‘Achadfada’ Baptistgrange, a medieval monastic grange in Co Tipperary

Feb3

A few weeks back I paid a flying visit to the site Baptistgrange the site of a medieval monastic grange or farm located a short distance from the village of Lisronagh, in Co Tipperary. Baptistgrange is often referred to as Achadfada or Achfada in historical sources.

The grange was owned by the Augustinian monastery of St John the Baptist, Dublin (Power 1938, 6; Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 216). Food and other raw materials were produced here in Tipperary for consumption in at the main monastery at St John’s in Dublin.

Church and graveyard at Baptistgrange

As with most places in south Tipperary the grange enjoys a great view of wonderful Slievenaman.

View of Slievenaman from Baptistgrange

I didn’t get much time to walk around the site. The remains of a deserted village are located to the northwest of the grange church while a the site of a castle is located to the west . The Civil Survey (1654-6) refers to this castle as ‘an old broken stump of a Castle with an old broken Bawne’ (Simington 1931, vol.1, 193).

Aerial view of Baptistgrange taken from Bing Maps

Following the dissolution the grange was leased out and in 1541 it leased to the countess of Ormond (Simington 1931, vol.1, 193). By the 16th century Baptistgrange was described as having a

‘fortilage or castle, with a hall, etc. 51 acres and 12 cottages, leased in 1541 to the countess of Ormond at £4’ (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 216).

The grange church still survives and it situated at the centre of a historic graveyard.

Church and graveyard at Grangebaptist

The church is covered in dense vegetation so it was impossible to inspect closely. Only part of the west gable is visible but as the west end of the church is very close to a field boundary it was difficult to photograph.

Part of the west wall at Baptistgrange church

South wall of Baptistgrange church

East gable of Baptistgrange church

According to Power the church was divided between the nave and chancel with ‘a triple chancel arch’ which had collapsed by 1930’s.

At either side of the former altar, in north and south side walls respectively, is the usual lighting ope. An unusual detail at this place is a projecting slab evidently a credence or a statue plinth; this is set in the east gable…corbels project from the side walls near their western end; these, instead of putlocks, supported wooden gallery beams… (Power 1938, 60).

The presence of a triple chancel arch is very rare in Ireland and it is such a pity that the Baptistgrange arch is no longer intact. Power (1938, 60) goes on to say

By triple arch here is not meant as an arch of three receding orders as in so many Hiberno-Romanesque example, but an arcade, or series of three arches, which run right across the church interior to form division into nave and chancel. Only two other examples of this arrangement are known to the writer, scil: in the Cathedral of Clonmacnoise and in the ruined church of Templeoan, Co Cork, respectively. Doubtless there are other Irish examples unrecorded.

Image of triple arch at Baptistgrange taken from Power, P. 1938 ‘Some old churches of Decies’, JRSAI, Vol.68, 55-68 Fig.2

References

Gwynn, A., & Hadcock, R.N., 1970. Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Power, P. 1938 ‘Some old churches of Decies’, JRSAI, Vol.68, 55-68.

Simington, R.C., 1931. The Civil survey, AD 1654-1656. Vol I: county of Tipperary: eastern and southern baronies. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

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Killamery High Cross Co Kilkenny

Nov20

The Killamery high cross is a wonderful hidden gem, just off the main Clonmel to Kilkenny Road, about 5 miles south of Callan. The cross is located at the site of the early medieval monastery of Killamery. Today the site is dominated by a Firsts Fruits church, dedicated to St Nicholas. The church was built in the year 1815 with a gift of £900 from the Board of First Fruits and was in use until the early 1900’s. During the 19th century it was a rectory, in the diocese of Ossory and it formed the corps of the prebend of Killamery, in the gift of the Bishop; the tithes amount to £280.

St Nicholas First Fruits Church at Killamery

Killamery or Chill Lamraí in Irish translates as the Church of Lamraighe and it gives its name to the townland and the civil parish where the site is located.

The patron saint the early medieval monastery was St Gobán. The Martyrology of Óengus records the saints feast day as the 6th of December. In later centuries the site became associated with another saint, St Nicholas of Myra whose feast day is also on the 6th of December. Little is know about the early history of the site and it is not until the 11th century that it appears in the historical records. The Annals of Four Masters in 1004 record the death of Domhnall son of Niall the abbot of Cill-Laimhraighe. During the later medieval period site appears to a have had a parochial status. An Anglo-Norman Motte is located c.100m to the southwest of the site.Mottes were earth and timber castles composed of a large artificial pudding bowl shaped earthen mound with a wooden palisade around the summit, enclosing a timber tower known as a bretasche (Farrelly & O’Brien 2006, 289).

According to Grey (2016, 278)

The townland of Killamery appears to have been See lands from an early date, until the bishop exchanged the townland with William Marshal for the townland of Stonycarthy, between 1192 and 1231. Marshal granted the townland to de Albin (Tobin) and it remained in the hands of the Tobins (Brooks 1950, 252-61), until it was forfeited in Cromwellian times by James Tobin. The church of Killamery became the prebendary of the diocese of Ossory on the establishment of the chapter and continued to form the corps of the diocesan chancellor until at least the fifteenth century (Carrigan 1905, iv, 311-20).

Today little remains of the earlier church settlement. During the 19th century much of the remains relating to the early medieval and medieval of Killamery was destroyed. The Ordnance Survey Letters of Kilkenny (1839, 120) state

The foundation, between three and four feet high, remains on the south-east side of the churchyard or burying ground, measuring 23 feet by 18, walls 2 feet nine inches thick; this part would appear to have been the Quire of the Church, as vestiges of some more extensive building may be traces, projecting to the west from it. There is a yew three within the area of the choir five feet in circumference , and two white thorns of good growth near it (Herity 2003, 120).

In 1853 the Kilkenny Archaeological Journal recorded a visit by Mr Dunne who described

A portion of the ancient chancel wall which enclosed the tombs of the family of Lee had been destroyed only the week before he visited it, and the stones had been used for a wall near the police barrack. The body of this ancient place of worship, with its ivy-covered arch, had been taken down in the year 1815 to serve for material for the present parish church, and the moss-covered stones that were uprooted on this occasion were thrown into a common shore (Stokes & Westropp, 1896/1901, 572).

A small number of early medieval features are found in the graveyard beside the First Fruits church. They include an early medieval, cross slab, a bullaun stone, high cross and a holy well.

Historic graveyard at Killamery containing high cross, cross slab and bullaun stone.

The cross slab a large rectangular slab of stone with a large latin cross set within a frame above the cross is the inscription OR AR THUATHA. The slab is set on its side against a large block of stone.

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The high cross dates to the ninth century it is elaborately decorated and sits on a stone plinth.

East face of the cross at Killamery

A panel on the base of the western face seems to contain an inscription which MacAlister transcribed as OR DO MAELSECHLAILL. “OR DO” means pray for and he identified Maelsechnaill as high king of Ireland who reigned AD 846 to 862 (Harbison 1994, 78).

West face of high cross at Killamery

Above the whorl at the centre of the head of the west face is a panel showing one figure holding a child as another approaches from the right-perhaps Adam and Eve at Labour. Beneath the whorl is a figure flanked by angels, possibly God creating the Seventh Day…The hunting scenes on the arms of the cross (Harbison 1994, 79).

Western wheel of face high cross at Killamery

Western face of wheel of cross at Kilammery the side arms depict a hunting scene

Figure at base of wheel of the western face of high cross at Killamery perhaps depicting creation day

Central boss of wheel of high cross on the western face

The eastern face of the high cross depicts interlaced animals.

Drawing of decoration of the easern face of the high cross

Interlinked serpents on the east face of the high cross at Killamery

The sides of the cross are also highly decorated. The ends of the arms have scenes from the bible the southern arm Noah in the Ark and the northern arm a scenes from the life of St John the Baptist.

Northern side of the high cross at Killamery

According to the Ordnance Survey Letters (1839) stations were performed there on Good Friday during the mid 19th century. It was

frequently visited by persons afflicted with head ache, on which occasion the mitre, which is loose is taken off the cross and put three times on the patient’s head, at the time reciting some prayers, after which a cure may be expected to follow (Herity 2003, 120)

The ‘mitre’ cap stone on top of the high cross was used to cure headaches in the 19th century.

A large bullaun stone is located close to the high cross. Its base is worn through . Megalithic Ireland blog makes note of a second bullaun stone at the site which I did not see. I really hope I missed it and it has not disappeared from the site.

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Stokes & Westropp (1896/1900, 378) recounted the presence of a third bullaun stone at the site and that it marked the grave of St Gobban.

There is a tradition that a bullaun, i.e. a cup-marked stone, probably

a rude font, lay at the side of the grave of Saint Goban at one time, but

that it was broken in pieces by the Palatines of New Birmingham, in the

County Tipperary.

A small and very unusual holy well is found on the north side of the graveyard.

The well is marked by a large granite boulder. One side of the stone has been shaped in to gable shape over a recess.

St Nicholas holy well Killamery 2014

When I visited the site in the summer of 2016 the well was dry and a rectangular recess normally filled with water from the well was visible at the base. The well was dedicated to St Nicholas of Myra. In the past a pattern or patron day was held here on December 6th the feast day of the saint. The tradition of pilgrimage here has long died out. Evidence of the saints importance to the area is illustrated by dedications of the nearby church and school at Winegap to the saint. Interestingly the feast day of the founder St Gobán, coincided with that of Saint Nicholas of Myra. St Nicholas was a very popular Norman saint and it is possible that his association with the site was linked to the establishment of the Anglo-Norman settlement of Killamery and was used to replace the earlier cult of St Gobán.

View of the back of boulder over St Nicholas holy well Killamery

Bouder marking St Nicholas holy well at Killamery

Recess at base of boulder at St Nicholas holy well Killamery

Although not directly related to the early medieval monastery. In 1850’s a sliver pin brooch was found by a labourer digging in a field within the parish of Killamery. It was said the man accidental broke the pin with a blow from the spade.The broach dates to the ninth century and was made in Ireland but the design was influenced by Viking design (Whitfield & Oskasha 1991). The pin shows evidence of Viking-style stamped ornament on the pin. The broach has an inscription on the back which probably reads: CIAROD[UI]RMC[.R]. According to Whitfield & Oskasha (1991, 59) ‘text contains a male personal name, probably CIAROD[UI]R MAC [.R]. It can be interpreted as ‘[the possession] of Ciarodur son of [-]’ It is likely Ciarodur was the owner of the broach (ibid, 60).

Killamery Broach from The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Ossory http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~irlkik/pics/index.htm

Reference

Crawford, H. 1913. A Descriptive List of Early Cross-Slabs and Pillars (Continued). The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 3(3), sixth series, 261-265.

Farrelly, J. & O’Brien, C. 2002. Archaeological inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. I, North Tipperary. Dublin: The stationary office.

Grey, R. 2016.Settlement clusters at parish churches in Ireland, c. 1200-1600 AD. Thesis NUI Galway.https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/handle/10379/6061

Harbison, P. 1994. Irish High Crosses.Drogheda: The Boyne Valley Honey Company.

Herity, M. 2003. Ordnance Survey Letters of Kilkenny. Vol.1 & 2. Dublin: Fourmasters Press.

Whitfield, N., & Okasha, E. (1991). The Killamery Brooch: Its Stamped Ornament and Inscription. The Journal of Irish Archaeology, 6, 55-60.

Lewis, 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Vol. 1, 123.

Stokes, M. & Westropp, T. J/ 1896/1901.’Notes on the High Crosses of Moone, Drumcliff, Termonfechin, and Killamery. (Plates XXVIII. to LI.)The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy , Vol. 31 (1896/1901), pp. 541-578.

http://www.megalithicireland.com/High%20Cross%20Killamery.htm

A Smiling Face at Kilmacduagh Co Galway

Aug20

I recently was reminded about a really interesting carving I noticed on my last visit to Kilmacduagh, Co Galway.

View of the monastic ruins of Kilmacduagh

Kilmacduagh is an early medieval monastic site founded by St Colman son of Duagh in the seventh century. The site is located a short distance from the town of Gort Co Galway. Today the surviving ruins of the monastic settlement consist of a round tower, a cathedral, two smaller churches and a small Augustinian abbey. I am planning to do a much more detailed post on the site in the coming months.

The cathedral is the largest of the surviving buildings and also possibly the oldest structure at the site. It was probably originally built in the tenth or eleventh century it was extended in the twelfth century and remodelled again in the fifteenth century.

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The church has many interesting features that are worth discussing in more detail but for the purpose of this post I will only highlight a very unusual carving.

The carving can be seen just inside the doorway of the north transept, on the right-hand side as you walk into the transept from the nave.

View of the doorway of the north transept

The carving consists of a large face cut into a sandstone block of stone. It is an oval shaped face, of a bald male, with two large ears, almond shaped eyes and a broad smiling mouth. All of his features combine to giving the figure a rather happy expression and when I first noticed the face I could not help but smile back.

Smiling face carved into the entrance of the north transept at Kilmacduagh

The carving is most unusual and I have not seen anything comparable in all my travels. Are any of you aware of similar type carvings at other church sites in Ireland or Britain? If I find out anything else about the happy face I will let you all know.

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Templecronan and the Relics of St Cronan Co Clare

Aug14

Templecronan is one of my favourite pilgrim sites. The site is an early medieval monastic settlement dedicated to St Cronan. It is located on farmland in Co Clare near the village of Carran. To get to the ruins you need to cross through some fields but a number of signposts guide the way.

View of Temple Cronan Co Clare

Very little is known about the history of Templecronan or the people who lived here and most of what we know about the site is gleamed from the archaeological record. The site is located in a townland called Termon/ An Tearmann which means church or glebe lands.

Today the most prominent feature at the site is a small rectangular shaped multi-period church. The fabric of the walls contain traces of cyclopean masonry, a common masonry style for churches in early medieval Ireland and a blocked up linteled west doorway with inclined jambs. These features, suggest an early stone church was at the site and was remodelled in during the Romanesque period (1020-1170 A.D).

View of the west gable of Templecronan church

Romanesque features within the church include a round-headed window in the east gable and corbels decorated with Hiberno-Romanesque animal heads in the west gable. There are also a number of Romanesque heads incorporated into the fabric of the walls.

Exterior of the round headed window in the east gable

View of east window from the interior of the church

Further remodelling was carried out in the fifteenth century with the addition of a pointed finely carved doorway in the north wall.

Fifteenth century doorway in the north wall of Templecronan

Traces on an ecclesiastical enclosure can still be found in the surrounding landscape.

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Archaeological evidence for pilgrimage at Templecronan is represented by two outdoor reliquaries located close to the church. Outdoor reliquaries were built to house the relics of a saint or holy person who was normally the founder saint. Some may have been built over the original grave of the saint. At Templecronan the reliquaries/shrines are a type known as gable shrine. They are triangular-shaped structure made up of two long flat flag stones and two smaller triangular-shaped stones arranged like a tent and orientated east-west. The short length of the shrines suggests they were used to house disarticulated skeletons/corporeal remain (Edwards 2002, 240).

Most scholars agree that the gable shrines are among of the earliest types of outdoor reliquary and suggest a date of seventh or eighth century. However Carlton Jones (2006, 138-139) suggest that both the shrines at Templecronan were contemporary with Romanesque carving at oratory. Only targeted excavation would answer this question definitively although excavation of a gable shrine at Illaunloughlan Island, Co. Clare dated the shrine to second half of the eighth century .

View of gable shrine known as St Cronan’s Bed at Templecronan.

The shrine located southeast of the church is known as St Cronan’s Bed and local tradition holds this was the burial -place of St Cronan. The second shrine is found northeast of the church in the adjacent field defined by modern field boundaries.

Gable shrine to the northeast of the Templecronan church

The presence of the gable shrines strongly suggests that pilgrimage was taking place here as early as the eight century and the construction of the shrines represents a period of great devotion to the saints associated with the site. The site appears to have fallen out of use in the late medieval period and devotion the the shrines gradually ceased.

Further evidence of pilgrimage is found at a holy well located a short distance from the church. The well is also dedicated to St Cronan and known as St Cronan’s holy well/Tobar Chronain.

Pathway leading to St Cronan’s holy well

The holy well is located at the base of a rock outcrop and defined by a dry-stone circular wall.

Stone wall surrounding St Cronan’s holy well

The holy well is a simple spring. A large penitential cairn of unknown date is found beside the well within the enclosure. It is not possible to know if the well was part of early medieval pilgrimage at Templecronan but it was a place of pilgrimage in the nineteenth century.

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The Ordnance Survey Letters for Clare 1839 state that ‘stations are performed but no distinct patron day is remembered‘. A quick search of nineteenth century sources has failed to turn up any further information about the well. Today the well and its surrounding are well cared and I noticed some coins left beside a small modern religious statue which suggests it may be still visited.

Templecronan is one of many wonderful site in Co Clare and is certainly worth spending some time exploring.

References

Edwards, N. 1999. The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland. London: Routledge.

Jones, C. 2004. The Burren and The Aran Islands. Exploring The Archaeology. Cork: The Collins Press.

Marshall, J. & Walsh, C. 2005. Illaunloughan Island: An Early Medieval Monastery

in County Kerry. Bray: Wordwell.

http://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/coclare/folklore/folklore_survey/chapter14.htm

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Kilmolash Church Co Waterford

Jul23

Kilmolash church is one of my favourite places to visit. It is located close to the Cásan na Naomh (path of the saints) an off-shoot of the ancient road from Lismore to Ardmore called St Declan’s Road. Its roughly about 5 or 6 miles from the historic town of Lismore, the site of the great monastery of St Cathage/Mochuada . Kilmolash started out its life as an early ecclesiastical site dedicated to St Molaise who was venerated locally on the 17th of January. There is no evidence written or physical to suggest that the site was at any time a place of pilgrimage, although this can not be ruled out completely. The annals record that the site was plundered by Norsemen in AD 833. In AD 912 Cormac Mac Cuileannan, bishop and vice abbot of Lismore, King of Déisi is also recorded as the abbot of Cell-Mo-Laise (Kilmolash). Suggesting Kilmolash was in the sphere of influence of Lismore. By the later medieval period the church had become the parish church for the parish of Kilmolash.

Today the site consists of the ruins of a multi-period church surrounded by a D-shaped graveyard. The graveyard is defined by a wooden fence and an earth and stone bank. The modern by-road follows the curve of the graveyard.

Kilmolash church Co Waterford

The church is rectangular in shape and consists of a nave and chancel divided by a rounded chancel arch. The nave and east wall are largely late medieval in date while the chancel walls appear to be much earlier, possibly even 12th century in date (O’Keeffe 2003, 171).

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This little church has many interesting architectural features and the west wall is particularly striking with its finely carved doorway with hooded moulding and holy water stoup.

West gable of Kilmolash church

The fabric of the building is constructed from sandstone and is in a poor state of repair and in need of some form of conservation especially the north and south walls.

Window in the west gable of Kilmolash church

Doorway in west gable of church

Holy water stoup in west gable of church

A double belfry survives in the west gable positioned over an ogee-headed gallery window.

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The nave and chancel are divided by a chancel arch. The arch is made of dressed stones, one of which bears the inscription Feare God, Honer the Kinge, Anno Dom 1635. Beneath the chancel arch is a large ogham stone. The inscription is worn but only the letters ‘NN’ can be identified (MacAlister 1945, vol. 1, 285-6). The stone also has two inscribed crosses located close to the ogham text. For more information on ogham stones visit Ogham in 3D project website.

Chancel arch at Kilmolash

Ogham stone under the chancel arch with incised crosses

Stone with the inscription God, Honer the Kinge, Anno Dom 1635

The most unusual feature at the church is rare piece of Romanesque sculpture positioned over a flat linteled door in the west end of the north wall. The carving in question is a finely carved rosette stone (Power 1898, 91; O’Keeffe 1994, 129-32). A similar type rosette stone is found at Coole Abbey.

A flat lintel door in the north wall of the church. Note rosette stone over the lintel

Unfortunately the rosette stone is not in-situ and was it was originally part of a larger composition. The carving is ‘rendered in low relief, the flower is carved onto a block of square stone and was highly stylized within a frame of beads‘ (O’Keeffe 2003, 171). The stone likely dates to first part of the 12th century.

Rosette stone at Kilmolash church

The graveyard surrounding the church contains many fine examples of eighteenth and nineteenth century gravestones and one late medieval gravestone with a figure carved on it found on the north side of the church. Today only the head can be discerned with some difficulty. The ITA files state that the head was believed to be the head of St Molaise (ITA files).

Medieval graveslab at Kilmolash

Traditionally people believed the face on the graveslab represented the head of St Molaise

A fragment of a font is also found in the graveyard and likely the same as the one identified by Buckley in 1898 and found in the graveyard wall and kept in the church (Power 1898, 92). In 1894 Redmond recorded that ‘… a holy well exists in a field adjoining the church, but that it was covered in many years ago, and now no trace of it can be found’ (Redmond 1894-95, 155).

Fragment of medieval font in the graveyard at Kilmolash

Given its roadside location Kilmolash is easy to get too and a wonderful place to pass a some time and I highly recommend a visit.

References

Buckley, M. J. C. (1896) Notes on Kilmolash Church, Near Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, WAJ vol. 2, 212-20.

Buckley, M. J. C. (1896) Notes on Kilmolash Church, Near Cappoquin, Co. Waterford, WAJ vol. 2, 212-20.
Buckley, M. J. C. (1899) Ecclesiological gleanings and jottings in Waterford and elsewhere. (continued) WAJ vol. 5, 44-8.

Macalister, R. A. S. (1945) Corpus inscriptionum insularum Celticarum, 2 vols. Stationery Office, Dublin.

O’Keeffe, T. (1994) Lismore and Cashel: reflections on the beginnings of Romanesque architecture in Munster. JRSAI vol. 124, 118-52.

O’Keeffe, T. 2003. Architecture and Ideology In the Twelfth Century. Dublin: Four Courts Press.
Power, Rev. P. (1898) Ancient ruined churches of Co. Waterford, WAJ vol. 4, 83-95, 195-219.

ITA Files

http://www.crsbi.ac.uk/site/2317/

http://www.libraryireland.com/topog/K/Kilmolash-Decies-Without-Drum-Waterford.php

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The Birthplace of St Colmcille

Jun9

Tradition holds St Colmcille was born at Gartan in Co Donegal. The exact location of the saints birthplace is open to discussion. One tradition says the saint was born on a stone called the Leac na Cumha in the townland of Lacknacoo.

Leac na Cumha or the Stone of Sorrow is stone set into a large oval-shaped mound with a U-shaped setting of stones that opens to the north.

Leac na Cumha in Lacknacoo

The Leac na Cumha is located along th south-eastern edge of the mound. It is a flat slab of stone and its surface is covered in prehistoric rock art. The art consists of cup-marks c. 0.1m in diameter.

Leac na Cumha is covered in rock art

It is here on this stone that the saint is said to have been born. The site was marked on the 1st ed. (1836) OS 6-inch map as St Colmcille’s stones. Close to the mound is an enormous stone cross erected by Cornelia Adair in 1911.

Stone cross at Leac na Cumha in Lacknacoo

In the nineteenth century

it became commonplace for emigrants to spend their last night here on the Leac na Cumhadh – the Stone of Sorrows. As Colmcille had decided to exile himself to Scotland, they thought that sleeping here – where he was born – would make their sadness easier to bear (http://www.colmcille.org/gartan)

A short distance away are the ruins of an early medieval ecclesiastical site at Churchtown – Ráth Cnó . Tradition holds this was the place where St Colmcille’s family lived. It was said his family gave this land to the church so that a monastic settlement could be built here. The site over looks Lough Akibbon and Lough Gartan.

View of Lough Akibbon

View of Lough Akibbon and Lough Gartan from the site

The site is still used as a turas by pilgrims who walk barefoot between the five marked stations. Believers follow the turas between Colmcille’s feast day on 9th June and the end of the turas season on 15th August, performing a series of prayers and actions at each stop (http://www.colmcille.org/gartan/3-03).

The most prominent features on the site is a small church marked as St Colmcille’s chapel on the 1st ed (1836) OS 6-inch map.

Medieval church at Gartan

According to the Donegal Archaeological Inventory this is probably the chapel described in 1622 as being in repair and having a thatched roof.

To the north of the church is a graveyard, at the centre of which are the foundations of a building said to be a monastic building.

Possible foundations of a monastic building

Two stone crosses also survive at the site and are part of the pilgrim stations.

Remains of stone cross at Churchtown

Stone cross at Churchtown

Below the site is a holy well dedicated to the saint.

St Colmcille’s holy well at Gartan

Both of these sites are part of the Slí Cholmcille and directions can be found on this website.

Useful Links

http://www.colmcille.org/gartan/3-03

http://www.colmcille.org/gartan/3-02

Pilgrimage In Medieval Ireland

pilgrim roads, rituals & destinations

Category Archives: Medieval Monastic Site

The Holy Well and Medieval Church at Drumcoo, Co Galway

St Ailbe’s Holy Well, Emly Co Tipperary

Pilgrimage to St Mullins Co. Carlow during the Black Death

Bibliography

A visit to Askeaton Friary

‘Achadfada’ Baptistgrange, a medieval monastic grange in Co Tipperary

Killamery High Cross Co Kilkenny

A Smiling Face at Kilmacduagh Co Galway

Templecronan and the Relics of St Cronan Co Clare

Kilmolash Church Co Waterford

References

The Birthplace of St Colmcille

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