Aghaboe Monastery

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Remains of the Dominican monastery, consisting of a simple nave and a transept on the south side from the 15th century.

The Aghaboe Monastery ( Irish Achadh Bó , English Aghaboe Priory , also called Aghaboe Abbey in relation to the early Christian period ) was founded around the year 560 by Cainnech (525-598) in what is now County Laois in Ireland , served from about 1052 to 1111 and 1152 to 1190 as the See of Ossory , was in 1234 a priory of Augustinian canons before the Florence Mac Gillapatrick as a Cainnech priory dedicated finally 1,382 Dominicans was re-established and until its suspension in 1540 in the wake of the Reformation was. The monastery is located in the municipality of the same name .

Geographical location

The former monastery is located on the R434 halfway between Borris in Ossory and Durrow in the south of County Laois on gently rolling terrain that slopes to the north. At the time of its founding, the monastery was on the important highway from Tara to Limerick ( Slige Dála ), through which it was also connected to Roscrea and Clonenagh . Other road connections existed to Monaicha Monastery ( Green Road ) and to Clonfert Molua . The country belonged to the then Kingdom of Ossory, was at its northern end and was one of its most important ecclesiastical sites next to Seirkieran and Kilkenny , which were all temporarily the seat of the eponymous diocese.

history

The founding of the monastery around 560 is traditionally attributed to Cainnech. Cainnech was one of the so-called "twelve apostles of Ireland" who were trained by Finnian in Clonard and then founded monasteries all over Ireland. The annals show that he died as abbot in Aghaboe in 598. The importance of the monastery is proven by the naming of all the abbots in the annals from the 7th to the early 12th century. One of the important abbots is Fergil (or Feirgil), who left Ireland as part of the missionary movement and became Bishop of Salzburg in Salzburg under the name Virgilius . The prosperous monastery was hit by raids by the Vikings in 845 and 913. In 1116 the monastery burned down to the ground.

In the 11th century the bishopric changed from Seirkieran to Aghaboe. Gwynn suspects the change occurred around 1052 when a shrine was built in honor of Cainnech. The time as a bishopric was, however, only brief, as the bishopric for Ossory was moved to Kilkenny as early as 1111 by the Synod of Rathbreasail . Byrne suspects here that the shift in the center of gravity from Aghaboe to Kilkenny was due to the descendants of the King of Leinster Donnchad Mac Gilla Pátraic , who were in conflict with the strengthened kingdom of Ossory. In the Synod of Kells , however, the bishopric was again moved to Aghaboe in 1152, until it was finally transferred to Kilkenny in 1190 by Bishop Felix O'Dulany.

After the invasion of Ireland, which began in 1169, Strongbow gave parts of the lands of Aghaboe as a fief to Adam de Hereford in return for providing five knights. The entire Ossory, which then included what is now south of County Laois and north of County Kilkenny , fell under the rule of the Marshals. The Irish MacGillapatricks ruling family then withdrew to the north of Ossory, in the Aghaboe area, and became a vassal of the Marshals. Under the rule of the Marshals, the monastery was rebuilt in 1234 for the Augustinian canons and used as a parish church. With the help of settlers who immigrated from England, Aghaboe blossomed into a small town. However, this was to change dramatically when on May 5, 1346 Dermot MacGillapatrick recaptured the place very bloody. The English Kilkenny Franciscan John Clyn wrote at the time:

“On Friday, May 5th, Dermot MacGillapatrick, the one-eyed, a man much given to treacheries and betrayals, and scrupling little to perjure himself for his convenience in alliances with O'Caroll, burned and destroyed the town of Aghaboe. And what was far worse, like an unnatural son raising his hand against his parents, in his rage, he cruelly burned the church of St. Canice, that most holy abbot and patron of the place, with the shrine and its relics. "

“On Friday, May 5th, Aghaboe was burned and destroyed by Dermot MacGillapatrick, the one-eyed man, prone to betrayal and betrayal, and who has little scruples about oath to serve the alliance with O'Caroll. And what was even worse, like an unnatural son raising his hand against his parents, in his rage he burned down the church of St. Cainnech, the holiest abbot and patron of the place, along with the shrine and his relics. "

The recapture was completed in 1359 when the castle fell into the hands of MacGillapatrick.

Piscina in the south transept, 15th century

In 1382 Florence MacGillapatrick re-established the monastery as the house of the Dominicans. This marks the transition from houses founded largely under the English rulers to those under Irish aegis. It remains unclear whether the monastery was built exactly on the site of the old monastery or whether the parish church (later the Anglican Church, built in 1818 ) occupies this place. The list of priors has been preserved and shows a high proportion of Irish, including not a few from the ruling families of the neighboring territories, but also some from Connacht and Munster . The average number of brothers is estimated at around 12 to 15, making it one of the smaller communities. Compared to Athenry , the land ownership with only one acre of land within the monastery walls and around 76 acres and 12 simple houses was rather modest, but also not entirely in accordance with the ideal of a mendicant order .

In the course of the Reformation, the monastery was closed in 1540. The value of the buildings and lands was estimated at 50 shillings and 10 pence in 1541 . The monastery and the parish building fell to Florence Fitzpatrick in 1601. The brothers tried to remain active on the ground. However, Aghaboe does not name the list of Irish Dominican monasteries compiled for Seraphinus Cavalli during his tenure as master of the order (1571-1635). In 1635, the then Bishop of Ossory, David Rothe, reported to Rome that the Aghaboe monastery was either already in ruins or was being used securely.

Only the nave and the south transept remain of the monastery. Only the foundation walls of the north wall of the nave are preserved, and nothing remains of the monastery residential buildings to the north. Some of the Gothic tracery windows on the south side of the nave and the east side of the transept were extended in 1773 for Frederick Trench's private garden in Ballinakill and are still there today. The ruins, which are completely overgrown by bushes and ivy, were restored in the 1980s in a joint effort by the residents. These efforts resulted in the award of a prize in the Ireland-wide Competition for Community Achievement in March 1989.

literature

  • Aubrey Gwynn , R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses in Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X .
  • Thomas S. Flynn: The Irish Dominicans 1536-1641 . Four Courts Press, Dublin 1993, ISBN 1-85182-122-8 .
  • Joseph Kennedy: The Monastic Heritage & Folklore of County Laois . Lisheen Publications, Roscrea 2003, ISBN 0-9542331-5-8 .
  • Benedict O'Sullivan: Medieval Irish Dominican Studies . Ed .: Hugh Fenning. Four Courts Press, Dublin 2009, ISBN 978-1-84682-151-6 .

Web links

Commons : Aghaboe Priory  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Annalen von Ulster , U527.1 and U599.2, year figures corrected from the tables by Daniel P. Mc Carthy ( Memento from November 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Kennedy, p. 9.
  3. ↑ Gwynn, p. 28.
  4. ↑ Gwynn, p. 101; O'Sullivan, p. 68.
  5. ↑ Kennedy, p. 12.
  6. ^ Gwynn, p. 221.
  7. ^ Ordnance Survey of Ireland (Ed.): Discovery Series 60 . Dublin 1997, ISBN 1-901496-26-0 . Grid square S 32 85.
  8. ↑ Kennedy, p. 9; Lisa M. Bitel: Isle of the Saints: Monastic Settlement and Christian Community in Early Ireland . Cork University Press, Cork 1990, ISBN 1-85918-017-5 , pp. 28 .
  9. ↑ Kenney, p. 9.
  10. ↑ Kennedy, p. 9. Specifically still preserved as Green Cross Roads on grid square S 26 84.
  11. ^ Kenney, p. 9. See also Gwynn, p. 376.
  12. ^ TM Charles-Edwards: Early Christian Ireland . Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-521-03716-6 , pp. 262 .
  13. ↑ Gwynn, p. 28.
  14. ^ John Ryan: Irish Monasticism: Origins and Early Development . Talbot Press, Dublin 1931, pp. 123 .
  15. ↑ Gwynn, p. 28.
  16. ↑ p. 376 in Hans-Dietrich Kahl: On the role of the Irish in the eastern apron of Agilofing and early Carolingian Bavaria . In: Heinz Löwe (Ed.): The Irish and Europe in the Early Middle Ages: Part 1 . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-12-915470-1 , p. 375-398 .
  17. ↑ Kennedy, p. 12. On the attack in 845 see also Marie Therese Flanagan: Irish Royal Charters Texts and Contexts . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-19-926707-3 , pp. 159 . For the raid of 913 see also p. 854 in FJ Byrne: Ireland before the battle of Clontarf . In: Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (Ed.): Prehistoric and Early Ireland . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-19-821737-4 , pp. 852-861 .
  18. ↑ Gwynn, p. 28.
  19. ↑ p. 24 in FJ Byrne: The trembling sod: Ireland in 1169 . In: Art Cosgrove (Ed.): A New History of Ireland. Part 2: Medieval Ireland 1169-1534 . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1987, ISBN 0-19-953970-7 , pp. 14-42 .
  20. ↑ O'Sullivan, p. 68. See also footnote 75 in Marie Therese Flanagan: Irish Royal Charters Texts and Contexts . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005, ISBN 0-19-926707-3 , pp. 57 .
  21. ↑ Goddard Henry Orpen: Ireland under the Normans 1169-1333 . 3rd and new edition. Volume 1. Four Courts Press, Dublin 2005, ISBN 1-85182-715-3 , pp. 388 .
  22. ^ O'Sullivan, p. 68.
  23. ↑ Kennedy, p. 12; Lord Killanin, Michael V. Duignan: The Shell Guide to Ireland . 2nd Edition. Ebury Press, London 1967, pp. 55 .
  24. ^ Quotation taken from O'Sullivan, p. 69, which refers to John Clyn: The Annals of Ireland by Friar John Clyn . Ed .: B. Williams. Dublin 2007.
  25. ↑ O'Sullivan, p. 68. Early Irish foundations are Roscommon and Derry, see O'Sullivan, p. 99.
  26. ↑ For the year of construction see Kennedy, p. 9.
  27. ↑ O'Sullivan, p. 69: de Burgo assumes that the Dominican monastery takes the place, while Ware contradicts this.
  28. ^ O'Sullivan, p. 69, refers to Archdall .
  29. ^ O'Sullivan, p. 95.
  30. ^ O'Sullivan, p. 92.
  31. ^ O'Sullivan, p. 145.
  32. ^ Gwynn, p. 221.
  33. ^ O'Sullivan, p. 145.
  34. ^ Gwynn, p. 221.
  35. ↑ Flynn, p. 69.
  36. ^ Royal Historical Society (Ed.): Handbook of British Chronology . 3. Edition. Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-521-56350-X , pp. 440 .
  37. ↑ Flynn, pp. 274-275.
  38. ↑ Kennedy, p. 14.
  39. ↑ See the memorial plaque in the nave: File: Aghaboe Priory of St. Canice Nave Plaque Community Achievement 2010 09 02.jpg

Coordinates: 52 ° 55 ′ 20.2 "  N , 7 ° 30 ′ 50.5"  W.