Inver Monastery

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Southwest view of the church ruins on the site of the monastery

The monastery Inver was in the 6th century by Naile of Kinawley in Inver ( Irish Inbhear ) in the diocese of Raphoe in Ireland founded. The church was later used as a parish church until 1807, after which it fell into ruin.

Geographical location

The monastery is located on Inverbucht, which belongs to the south coast of Donegal, in the village of Inver , which is on the road between the towns of Donegal and Killybegs in northwest Ireland . The river Eany Water flows into the Inverbucht and loops around a small peninsula just before it flows into the bay. On this peninsula, the church is located in a southwest-northeast orientation with the entrance on the southwest side, which grants a view over the river and the nearby port of Inver. The church is located on an elevation that is secured by a surrounding wall.

history

The founder Náile von Kinawley is attributed an origin from Munster . He is said to come from the main line of Eoghanacht von Cashel and his father Aonghas, son of Nadh Fraoich and King of Munster. According to the vita from the 16th century, which was probably created very late , he is said to have met in Inver Columban , which prompted him to found it. For some time he then stayed in Inver as abbot before he succeeded Molaise in Devenish and later stayed in Kinawley.

The small rectangular church went through several construction periods. One of the oldest parts that can be dated is the inner frame of the altar window in the north-east gable with a keel arch , which is dated to the end of the 12th or beginning of the 13th century. But this is already a change because the window has been enlarged so that the church must be older. At the beginning of the 17th century the church was restored and in 1622 its condition was declared good. At that time it had a thatched roof, which was replaced by a slate roof at the beginning of the 18th century.

literature

  • Aubrey Gwynn , R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses in Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X , pp. 388 .
  • Brian Lacy: Archaeological Survey of County Donegal . Donegal County Council, Lifford 1983, ISBN 0-9508407-0-X , pp. 270-271 .
  • Pádraig Ó Riain: A Dictionary of Irish Saints . Four Courts Press, Dublin 2011, ISBN 978-1-84682-318-3 .

Web links

Commons : Inver Old Church  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Gwynn, p. 388.
  2. ↑ a b Lacy, p. 270.
  3. ^ Ordnance Survey Ireland (1993). Donegal [map], 1: 50,000, Discovery Series. ISBN 0-904996-50-6 .
  4. ↑ Ó Riain, pp. 509-510.
  5. ↑ Ó Riain, p. 510; Gwynn, p. 388.

Coordinates: 54 ° 38 ′ 48.5 ″  N , 8 ° 16 ′ 49.9 ″  W.