Athenry Monastery

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
East view of the monastery with the choir window from the 14th century

The monastery Athenry ( English Athenry Priory ) was 1241 Meiler de Bermingham as the Saints Peter and Paul dedicated Priory of Dominicans in the Archdiocese of Tuam belonging city Athenry (now County Galway , Connacht , Ireland established). The brothers, who were initially able to stay after the Reformation , had to give up the monastery in the devastating city fire of 1597, but were able to return later. In 1644, the associated school was given the status of a university , which however only existed for a very short time due to the armed conflicts. In 1698 the brothers were finally forced to give up.

history

Under the direction of Richard de Burgh , barons of Norman descent and their troops crossed the Shannon in 1235 and conquered Connacht . The land around Athenry fell to Meiler de Bermingham, who founded Athenry with the construction of the castle in 1238 and was able to found the priory in 1241. In addition to the founder, who funded the construction of the church, other founders also participated including some of the previously defeated Irish families. This is considered evidence of how the previous opponents were able to stand up for a common cause. Fedlimid Ó Conchobair, Irish King of Connacht, took over the construction of the refectory , Eogan Ó hEidin financed the dormitory and Cornelius Ó Cellaigh made the chapter house possible . Further donations enabled the construction of the monastery garden, the infirmary and a guest house. The construction progressed at such a pace that the provincial chapter could be held in the premises as early as 1242 . During the tenure of Archbishop Florence Mac Flin (1289-1312) a house for scholars was added to the monastery.

The north transept, built in the 14th century

The monastery became an important resting place for the founder's family, the other donor families and several bishops. The founder himself was buried in 1252. His son William, who became Archbishop of Tuam, was given a precious burial place next to his father. At the beginning of the 14th century the church had to be enlarged. During this time, the east choir window and the transept and aisle on the north side were built. In 1400 an alms payment was granted to finance restoration work. Further indulgence privileges followed in 1423 and 1445, depending on the previous fires. At that time there were 30 brothers in the monastery.

During the Reformation in 1541, the custodian Adam de Coppynger received the Lord Deputy promise that he and his brothers could keep the monastery if they took off their habit . In 1568 Elizabeth I granted the Earl of Clanricarde the privilege of continuing to use the monastery as a burial place. In 1574 the monastery and the land belonging to it fell to the city of Athenry. In the same year both the town and the monastery were sacked by the earl's sons. However, the Dominicans managed to repossess the monastery and were also spared when Red Hugh O'Donnell captured Athenry in 1595. In the course of the Nine Years' War , Athenry was besieged in 1596 and then put to rubble by a devastating fire. The city should never recover from that.

Following this, the brothers received some land at Esker in 1622, about 4 km southeast of Athenry, where they built a small monastery. They continued to take in novices and also opened a school. At that time there were virtually no other clergy training opportunities in Ireland. With considerable effort, the Irish clergy in exile succeeded in establishing two colleges in Lisbon and Leuven , which were intended as a temporary solution until the situation in Ireland was stabilized to such an extent that the establishment of studia generalia would be possible. In preparation for this, the General Chapter in Rome in 1644 decided to set up five universities in the five Irish religious provinces. In addition to Dublin , Limerick , Cashel and Coleraine , Athenry was also planned here. Under the protection of the Irish Confederation , Athenry succeeded in establishing the university, which however did not last long because of the reconquest of Ireland .

The connection between the Bermingham family and the monastery, which has been maintained over centuries, is documented by the massive tomb of Matilda Bermingham, who died in 1788, in the choir.

The brothers managed to return to their old monastery for the last time in 1685, which they had to give up after the Bishop's Banishment Act passed by the Irish Parliament in 1697, which forced all bishops and clergy to leave Ireland by May 1, 1698. As early as 1722 the monastery was only a ruin. Some of the buildings belonging to the monastery were demolished around 1750, others were prepared for use as barracks. The tower collapsed sometime after 1779. To celebrate the 750th anniversary of the founding, a solemn mass was held in the ruins of the nave in 1991.

literature

  • Harold G. Leask: Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings . Volume Two. Dundalgan Press, Dundalk 1960.
  • Aubrey Gwynn , R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X , pp. 221-222 .
  • Thomas S. Flynn: The Irish Dominicans, 1536-1641 . Four Courts Press, Dublin 1993, ISBN 1-85182-122-8 .
  • Seán Spellissy: The History of Galway: City & County . The Celtic Bookshop, Limerick 1999, ISBN 0-9534683-4-8 , pp. 170-173 .
  • Peter Harbison: A Thousand Years of Church Heritage in East Galway . Ashfield Press, Dublin 2005, ISBN 1-901658-58-9 , pp. 38-40 .

Web links

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

Remarks

  1. ↑ See Spellissy.
  2. ↑ Cf. Edwin C. Rae : Architecture and sculpture, 1169-1603 . In: Art Cosgrove (ed.): A New History of Ireland II: Medieval Ireland 1169–1534 . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1987, ISBN 978-0-19-953970-3 , pp. 752 .
  3. ↑ See Gwynn.
  4. ↑ See Gwynn.
  5. ↑ See Leask, p. 127.
  6. ↑ See Gwynn.
  7. ↑ See Gwynn.
  8. ↑ See Flynn, p. 229.
  9. ↑ See Gwynn.
  10. ↑ See Spellissy.
  11. ↑ See Harbison.

Coordinates: 53 ° 17 '53.7 "  N , 8 ° 44' 40.4"  W.