Killydonnell Monastery

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Southwest view of the monastery

The monastery Killydonnell ( Irish Mainistir Chill Ó dTomhrair , English Killydonnell Friary ) was in 1471 from the Donegal ruling family O'Donnell House for Third Order of the Franciscan Order in the Diocese of Raphoe in Ireland founded. At the beginning of the 17th century, but no later than 1603, the monastery was closed during the Reformation .

history

The Irish name Chill Ó dTomhrair indicates that there was previously a church belonging to the local Ó Tomhrair family on the site. The initiative for the establishment came from the two Terziaren Dermit Idurnyn and Dermit Magillacsbuig, who sent a petition to Rome to open a new house. In 1471 the dean of Raphoe was ordered by a papal bull to approve the construction of the monastery.

Killydonnell is on the west coast of Lough Swilly , a fjord-like inlet that stretches between Fanad in the west and Inishowen in the east.

In the 1550s, the English crown also tried to effectively gain control of Ulster with English troops, an English administration and the enforcement of English law. Many clans like the founding family of the O'Donnell were ready to accept this, even if it meant giving up their own armed forces. The conflict between English and Irish law not infrequently led to disputes about the succession in the Irish ruling families, since English law provided for primogeniture , while under Irish law suitable members of a side line were elected. One such conflict arose with the O'Neill, in which the successor Matthew, appointed under English law, was subject to his brother Shane, who followed under Irish law. Shane O'Neill then became the main opponent of the English in the north of Ireland and was thus also in conflict with the O'Connell family, who had rivaled the O'Neill since ancient times. In 1559 Shane managed to capture Calvagh O'Donnell and his wife at the monastery. It was not until 1566 that the abductees were freed by Henry Sidney during his successful campaign against Shane's army.

Called Bishop of Raphoe in 1591 and arrived in his diocese from Rome in June 1592 during the Nine Years' War , Neal O'Boyle had his chapter meet on September 23, 1592 in Killydonnell.

In 1601 the Franciscans were still in the monastery; In 1603 the last guardian of the monastery handed it over to the crown. At that time, the monastery owned three quarters of land and the annual income was estimated at three shillings . The monastery became Capt. Leave Basil Brooke.

architecture

Interior view of the nave facing west.

The monastery consists of a single nave, inside 24 m long and 6.25 m wide, with a south facing transept facing the coast , which inside measures 10.4 m × 5.9 m. To the north of the choir area are the sacristy , which was later used as the family crypt of the Stewart family, and the living rooms, which are all vaulted. Lacy does not date more closely, but assumes that the nave and the living quarters were built around the same time and the transept was added later. The tracery of the east window has been almost completely lost. Lacy suspects that it was four-part and ended with a quatrefoil at the top.

literature

  • Aubrey Gwynn , R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses in Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X , pp. 272 .
  • Brian Lacy: Archaeological Survey of County Donegal . Donegal County Council, Lifford 1983, ISBN 0-9508407-0-X , pp. 336-338 .

Web links

Commons : Killydonnell Monastery  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Gwynn, p. 272.
  2. ↑ Gwynn, p. 272; Notes on the local information boards.
  3. ↑ Gwynn, p. 272; Colmán N. Ó Clabaigh: The Franciscans in Ireland, 1400–1534 . From Reform to Reformation. Four Courts Press, Dublin 2002, ISBN 1-85182-548-7 , pp. 98 .
  4. ↑ Gwynn, p. 272, notes the capture and dates it to 1559. The background was taken from the representation by Lennon, who gives 1561 as the year of the kidnapping: Colm Lennon: Sixteenth-Century Ireland . The Incomplete Conquest. Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 1994, ISBN 0-7171-1623-9 , pp. 266-273 .
  5. ↑ Information about the conference can be found on the information boards on site; Regarding travel information: p. 122, footnote 5 from: Irish Material in the Augustinian Archives, Rome, 1354–1624 . In: Archivium Hibernicum . tape 19 . Catholic Historical Society of Ireland, 1956, pp. 61-134 .
  6. ↑ Quarter is a medieval area measure in Ireland with regional variations. A quarter is roughly equivalent to 120 acres . Explanations on this: Units of Land Measurement. Retrieved December 30, 2012 .
  7. ^ Lacy, p. 336.

Coordinates: 55 ° 0 ′ 41.3 "  N , 7 ° 36 ′ 33.3"  W.