Moyne Monastery

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West view of the monastery

The Moyne Monastery ( Irish Mainistir na Maighne , Latin Conventus de Moighean or Conventus de Moyen , English Moyne Friary ) was built around 1450 during the tenure of Nicholas V by the MacWilliam Burke family as a house of observant Franciscans in the townland of Moyne in County Mayo , Ireland , founded on the coast of Killala Bay , just a few kilometers southeast of Killala in the diocese of the same name . It is the first foundation of the observant Franciscans in Ireland, which gained great importance as a frequently chosen location for the provincial chapters and as one of the most important houses for the formation of young Franciscans. The Franciscans continued to run the monastery after the Reformation despite ongoing persecution, but had to accept that their house was burned down by Sir Richard Bingham in 1590 and thus became ruin in the meantime. The Franciscans returned, however, and the community moved to Kilmacshalgan, County Sligo in the 18th century , where the last Moyne Franciscan, Thomas Burke, died in 1800. The monastery is one of the national monuments of Ireland under number 103.

Geographical location

Moyne is very close to the western coast of the River Moy estuary . The landscape is characterized by glacial embankments that have weathered to form boulder clay . The soil consists of gray-brown podsol , which is drained quite well. The elongated island of Bartragh, which is characterized by sand dunes and can be reached on foot at low tide , protects the coast . The top of the tower, which can still be reached by stairs, allows a wide view of Killala Bay , to the east over the entire country to the mountain range of the Ox Mountains and to the summit of Nephin on Lough Conn in the southwest. It was also possible to see the cathedral bell tower and the round tower in Killala from the tower .

The favorable location allowed the Franciscans in Moyne to live largely self-sufficient. There were plenty of vegetables, fish and meat on site. Legumes were easy to grow. Oysters and other shellfish were plentifully harvested on the coast . The mussel shells were burned and used to make a mortar that was used in the construction of the monastery complex. On the island easily accessible Bartragh could without much effort rabbits are hunted.

There are speculations that there was an early Christian church of a saint named Mucini or Muckna, whose feast day is March 4th, at the site of its foundation.

The monastery is located in the townland of Abbeylands , which is directly adjacent to Moyne . It is accessible via the coastal road between Killala and Ballina .

history

After the end of the great schism , a reform movement began among the Franciscans at the beginning of the 15th century, who wanted to interpret the rule of the order more strictly. It could not prevail, but for a time there were observant communities among the Franciscans and those who stuck to the traditional practice. At the beginning the movement spread to Italy, France and Spain. In Ireland the observance movement developed particularly in the dioceses of Achonry , Elphin and Killala and Elphin in northern Connacht . The Augustinian brothers in particular were pioneers with the establishment of Banada in 1423 . It should primarily spread to the Irish-influenced regions, the English-influenced houses in the east of Ireland, such as Castledermot, belonged to the conventuals until the end.

The establishment of Moyne is the first for the Observant Franciscans in Ireland. It took place during the tenure of Nicholas V (1447-1455). There was a lost papal bull , of which only a summary has survived, which in 1450 approved the foundation of one or more houses of the observant Franciscans in the dioceses of Achonry, Elphin and / or Killala. Canice Mooney thinks it is very certain that this included the creation of Moyne. Since there were no structures for observant Franciscans in Ireland at that time, Moyne was supposed to practice observance, but be subordinate to the conventual provincial in Ireland. The Irish Franciscans sent the observant Nehemias O'Donohue to the General Chapter in Rome in 1458. In order to integrate the two movements in the Order, there were meanwhile new structures with a Vicar General of the Observants as deputy of the General Minister at their head and the corresponding Vicar Provincials subordinate to him. Nehemias O'Donohue was appointed Vicar Provincial of Ireland in Rome, but did not return until 1460 to learn more from the experiences of the observant Franciscans in France. In the meantime, Moyne also received news of the new structures and elected Malachy O'Clubhain as Vicar Provincial. The double occupation problem was resolved in August 1460 by Pius II by confirming Nehemias O'Donohue as vicar provincial. He was also given the authority to convert up to four houses to the observants if the respective brothers vote in favor. In addition to Moyne, Youghal , Timoleague and Multyfarnham were included within a year .

There are somewhat contradicting statements about the founder and the founding family. Nehemias O'Donohue is named by Sir James Ware as the founder with the founding year 1460. Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, one of the four authors of the Annals of the Four Masters , named the MacWilliam Burke family as the founder in his list of Franciscan foundations in Ireland, along with the fact that the initiative came from Nehemias O'Donohue. This apparently refers to the year Nehemias O'Donohue received papal approval to convert up to four houses, but does not take into account that Moyne was founded before O'Donohue went to Rome. The Baret and Barry families are also mentioned as founders or owners of the land belonging to the monastery. However, in the opinion of Gwynn and Hadcock, this is likely due to a mistake of Moyne for Boghmoynen, a Tertiary house in the same diocese that was founded by the Barrett family. The annals of the four masters name the ruling family of Mac William Burke in northern Mayo as the founders. The archivist John Lodge names Thomas Óg Mac William Burke, who headed the family from 1458 to 1460, as the founder in 1460. Hubert Thomas Knox also names Thomas Óg, but with 1458 as the year of foundation. However, this does not match the founding time around 1450. At that time, his older brother Edmund na Féasóige was in charge of the family. Even if the exact founding circumstances cannot be clarified, there is no doubt about the founding by this family.

The monastery church was consecrated in 1462. In 1464, 1478, 1498, 1504, 1512, 1541 and 1550 the provincial chapters were held in Moyne. The monastery at the time had around 50 brothers and was used to train novices in the west of Ireland.

After the Reformation, the house was initially continued. In 1574 Moyne was listed as a house that still belonged to the "rebels" and had not yet been handed over to the crown. Although Elizabeth I did not intensify the religious persecution, the Desmond rebellions aggravated it, which targeted the Franciscans and their monasteries in particular, as they were seen as the support of the population, which made broad resistance possible. During this period of persecution, numerous Franciscans became martyrs , whose fates were later recorded by Vicar Provincial Francis O'Mahoney and Provincial Donagh Mooney in Leuven in the early 17th century.

Two of these recorded incidents are related to Moyne. Around 1579 several Franciscans were arrested by English soldiers. An attempt was made to force one of the brothers to admit that he was involved in a conspiracy against the English crown. Although the Franciscan was threatened with death, he did not confess. When he was about to be hanged, he asked that the Moyner Franciscan John O'Dowd make his confession again. The soldiers allowed this, hanged him, then tried in vain to force John O'Dowd to betray the secret of confession and killed him too. In another episode narrated by Francis O'Mahoney and Donagh Mooney, the Franciscans were preparing a boat as English troops approached. At the suggestion of Provincial Eoghan Ó Dubhthaigh, who was then in Moyne, it was agreed that the aged lay brother Felim O'Hara would stay behind so that he might prevent worse with his gentle demeanor. The Franciscans successfully escaped by boat. However, when they returned on May 1, 1582, they found Felim O'Hara murdered in front of the high altar. Donagh Mooney reports that in June 1616 he met some of the soldiers who were involved in the murder of O'Hara. They would have confirmed the account and asked for forgiveness.

At the end of the 16th century Connacht was at the center of a dispute between the "new English" who had just come to Ireland to enforce English rule, and the "old English", which included the branches of the de Burghs, the Connacht bis dominated there. Among the new was Sir Richard Bingham, who secured the office of Lord President of Connacht with a cash payment of £ 1,500 . Formally he asserted the interests of England, but he was undoubtedly one of those who also wanted to gain new land and taxes. He also came into conflict with the branch of the MacWilliams de Burgh, who ruled the north of Mayos and thus the region around Rathfran. As part of this dispute, there was a campaign by Bingham in 1590 that took him to northern Mayo, where he burned the monasteries of Moyne, Rosserk and Rathfran, which belong to the diocese of Killala .

The ruin fell to Edmund Barrett in 1595. When Provincial Donagh Mooney visited Moyne in June 1616, the monastery was owned by an English widow who, however, left the church and some monastery cells to the six remaining Franciscans. D. Thomas de Burgo paid the expenses. In 1618 the brothers moved to a house near the monastery.

The Provincial Chapter at Ross in August 1687 reduced the number of novitiate in Connacht to four. In addition to Moyne, the novitiate stayed in Kilconnell , Kinalehin, and Elphin. A report from 1741 indicates that the community had moved to Kilmacshalgan, County Sligo , and a school was established there. In 1744 there were still four brothers in the community. In 1771 only two Franciscans are counted in the diocese. Thomas Burke was the last Guardian who was still near the monastery. He died around 1800. There were other Franciscans who held the title of Guardian of Moyne, but this was no longer really connected with the monastery in Moyne.

architecture

View from the nave into the south aisle and the south transept behind it

The monastery was built in several stages from its foundation and changed several times until the 17th century. Exact dates are difficult, but the tower between the nave and the choir , the arcades around the monastery garden, the south nave with its own gable and the side chapel adjoining the choir to the south were added later. The classical west entrance of the nave and the extension of the tower to a residential tower with a staircase took place in the 17th century.

Basically, the monastery church in Moyne and the associated complex were characterized by a simplicity that suited the orientation of the observant movement. In this regard, Moyne is comparable to Adare , Muckross, and Ross Errilly . In contrast, there are Franciscan houses such as Ennis or Quin , which were renovated and expanded to a very high standard during this time, which showed the influence of the Holy Cross School initiated by the Cistercian Abbey of Holy Cross .

The south nave is significantly wider than the long nave and together with it forms a double gable on the west side. On the north side of the south aisle, three arcades open to the nave, on the east side two arcades open to the transept. The inner pillars are octagonal with the exception of the pillar that connects the long, transverse and south aisles. The transept is separated on the east side by a cell into two altar areas, each with its own piscina . The very narrow cell served as a place of residence for a hermit who was subject to particularly strict rules. The support of such a hermit made it possible to win an indulgence .

The cloister garden to the north of the church has four circumferential arcades, of which the south side leaning against the nave was simply roofed, the other three are integrated into the respective outbuildings and provided with a barrel vault . Harold G. Leask and Roger Stalley see the similarity of the arcades to those of Ross Errilly , so that they can be estimated at least at the end of the 15th century, and possibly later. The similarities are so great that it is assumed that these are works by the same stonemasons. Roger Stalley sees enough similarities here to the arcades in Creevelea :

Moyne Friary Cloister Arcades NE Corner 2013 09 10.jpg
Ross Friary Cloister Arcades SW Corner 2010 09 14.jpg
Creevelea Friary Cloister NE 2007 08 16.jpg


Arcades of the monastery gardens in Moyne, Ross Errilly and Creevelea (from left to right)

To the east of the monastery garden were the sacristy and the chapter house . At the northeast corner there is a corridor to a more modern house that adjoins the church on the east side. The refectory can also be reached at the same corner . For table reading there was a niche for the reader in the northernmost window on the east wall. Adjacent to this was the kitchen on the north side of the monastery garden.

While with the Cistercians the west wing served as accommodation for the lay brothers, with the Mendicants it was structured as an area that served as a connection with the outside world. Visitors could be received via the main entrance located here and accommodated in the rooms on the first floor. These were better equipped than the dormitory of the east wing and above the refectory.

literature

  • John M. O'Hara: Rosserk and Moyne, Co. Mayo . In: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland . Series 5, volume 8 , no. 3 , 1898, p. 258-263 , JSTOR : 25508526 .
  • Donagh Mooney: Brussels MS. 3947. Donatus Moneyus, De Provincia Hiberniae S. Francisci . In: Brendan Jennings (ed.): Analecta Hibernica . No. 6 , 1934, pp. 12-138 .
  • Francis O'Mahoney: Part II: Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae FF. Minor . In: Brendan Jennings (ed.): Analecta Hibernica . No. 6 , 1934, pp. 139-191 .
  • Canice Mooney: The Franciscans in County Mayo . In: Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society . tape 28, 1958/1959 , pp. 42-69 , JSTOR : 25535382 .
  • Harold G. Leask: Irish Churches and Monastic Buildings . Volume III: Medieval Gothic: The Last Phases . Dundalgan Press, Dundalk 1960.
  • Patrick Conlan: Franciscan Ireland . The Lilliput Press, Mullingar 1988, ISBN 0-946640-29-7 , pp. 134 .
  • Colmán N. Ó Clabaigh: The Franciscans in Ireland, 1400–1534. From Reform to Reformation . Four Courts Press, Dublin 2002, ISBN 1-85182-548-7 .
  • Roger Stalley: The End of the Middle Ages. Gothic Survival in Sixteenth-Century Connacht . In: Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland . tape 133 , 2003, pp. 5-23 .
  • Edel Bhreathnach, Joseph MacMahon, John McCafferty (Eds.): The Irish Franciscans 1534–1990 . Four Courts Press, Dublin 2009, ISBN 978-1-84682-210-0 .

Web links

Commons : Moyne Friary  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Donagh Mooney, p. 50.
  2. ^ A b Francis O'Mahoney, p. 158.
  3. ^ A b c d e f g h i j Aubrey Gwynn , R. Neville Hadcock: Medieval Religious Houses Ireland . Longman, London 1970, ISBN 0-582-11229-X , pp. 241, 255-256 .
  4. ↑ a b c Canice Mooney, p. 43.
  5. ↑ a b Donagh Mooney, p. 52.
  6. ↑ a b c Canice Mooney, p. 44.
  7. ↑ a b c d e Conlan, p. 134.
  8. ↑ a b c d e Canice Mooney, p. 45.
  9. ↑ Canice Mooney, pp. 45,49.
  10. ↑ Canice Mooney, pp. 49-50.
  11. ^ National Monuments in State Care: Mayo. (PDF) Retrieved October 24, 2016 .
  12. ↑ FHA Aalen: The Irish rural landscape: synthesis of habitat and history . In: FHA Aalen, Kevin Whelan, Matthew Stout (Eds.): Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape . Cork University Press, Cork 1997, ISBN 1-85918-095-7 , pp. 4–30 (maps on pages 10, 17 and 19).
  13. ↑ Alex Ritsema: Discover the Islands of Ireland . The Collins Press, Cork 1999, ISBN 1-898256-67-5 , pp. 71 .
  14. ^ O'Hara, p. 261.
  15. ^ A b C. P. Meehan: The Rise and Fall of The Irish Franciscan Monasteries. And Memoirs of The Irish Hierarchy in the Seventeenth Century . 3. Edition. James Duffy, Dublin 1870, p. 59-61 ( archive.org ).
  16. ↑ Canice Mooney, pp. 46-47.
  17. ↑ Ó Claibaigh, pp. 132-133.
  18. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, p. 257.
  19. ↑ Richard Irvine Best, Hugh Jackson Lawlor (Eds.): The Martyrology of Tallaght. From the Book of Leinster and MS 5100-4 in the Royal Library, Brussels . tape LXVIII . Henry Bradshaw Society, London 2010, ISBN 978-1-870252-97-3 , pp. 20 (first edition: 1931).
  20. ^ In square G 23 28 of the Discovery Series 24 map sheet . Ordnance Survey of Ireland, ISBN 0-904996-53-0 .
  21. ^ John Moorman: A History of the Franciscan Order . From its Origins to the Year 1517. Franciscan Herald Press, Chicago 1988, ISBN 0-8199-0921-1 , pp. 441-443 .
  22. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, pp. 53–54.
  23. ^ Conlan, p. 22.
  24. ↑ Francis O'Mahoney, p 144,148,152.
  25. ^ Conlan, pp. 22-23.
  26. ↑ Ó Clabaigh 2002, pp. 48–49.
  27. ↑ Sir James Ware: De Hibernia & antiquitatibus ejus disquisitiones . London 1654, p. 222 .
  28. ↑ Joseph Moloney (ed.), Mícheál Ó Cléirigh: Part III: Brussels MS. 3410. A Chronological List of the Foundations of the Irish Franciscan Province . In: Analecta Hibernica . No. 6 , 1934, pp. 192–202 , here p. 197 .
  29. ↑ entry M1460.1 in the Annals of the Four Masters
  30. ↑ Donagh Mooney, pp. 50-51.
  31. ↑ Entry M1460.1.
  32. ^ John Lodge: The Peerage of Ireland . tape III . James Moore, Dublin 1789, p. 416 ( archive.org ).
  33. ↑ Canice Moone, p. 45 including footnote 17.
  34. ^ Hubert Thomas Knox: The History of the County of Mayo. To the close of the sixteenth century . Hodes, Figgis & Co., Dublin 1908, p. 97,157 ( archive.org ).
  35. ^ TW Moody, FX Martin, FJ Byrne (Eds.): A New History of Ireland . tape IX , ISBN 978-0-19-959306-4 , pp. 171 .
  36. ↑ Donagh Mooney, pp. 50-51.
  37. ^ Colm Lennon: The dissolution to the foundation of St Anthony's College, Louvain, 1534-1607 . In: The Irish Franciscans 1534–1990 . S. 14 .
  38. ^ A b Colm Lennon: The dissolution to the foundation of St Anthony's College, Louvain, 1534-1607 . In: The Irish Franciscans 1534–1990 . S. 20 .
  39. ↑ Jennings on Francis O'Mahoney, p. 139.
  40. ↑ Jennings on Donagh Mooney, pp. 13-14.
  41. ↑ Donagh Mooney, pp. 52-53.
  42. ↑ Conlan, p. 30.
  43. ^ Colm Lennon: The dissolution to the foundation of St Anthony's College, Louvain, 1534-1607 . In: The Irish Franciscans 1534–1990 . S. 15 .
  44. ↑ There are different dates for this: Francis O'Mahoney names May 1, 1582 as the date when O'Hara was found dead, Donagh Mooney the year 1578; Canice Mooney and Colm Lennon adopted the former year, Gwynn and Hadcock the latter.
  45. ^ Francis O'Mahoney, p. 176.
  46. ^ Donagh Mooney, p. 52.
  47. ↑ Canice Mooney, p. 46.
  48. ↑ a b Canice Mooney, p. 46.
  49. ^ Colm Lennon: Sixteenth-Century Ireland . The Incomplete Conquest. Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 1994, ISBN 0-7171-1623-9 , pp. 254-255 .
  50. ^ Nicholas Canny: Making Ireland British 1580-1650 . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-19-820091-9 , pp. 77-98 .
  51. ^ William M. Hennessy (Ed.): The Annals of Loch Cé. A Chronicle of Irish Affairs From AD 1014 To AD 1590 . tape II . Stationary Office, Dublin 1939, p. 508 ( archive.org ).
  52. ↑ a b Canice Mooney, p. 49.
  53. ↑ Mooney calls Edward Barett.
  54. ^ Mooney, p. 48.
  55. ↑ Gwynn and Hadcock name L. Thomas de Burgo.
  56. ↑ Donagh Mooney, pp. 51-52.
  57. ↑ Canice Mooney, p. 50.
  58. ↑ Canice Mooney, p. 51.
  59. ↑ a b c Stalley, p. 11.
  60. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, p. 216.
  61. ↑ Leask, pp. 109-110.
  62. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, pp. 199–201.
  63. ↑ a b Leask, p. 149.
  64. ^ Stalley, p. 10.
  65. ^ Leask, p. 111.
  66. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, p. 231.
  67. ↑ Leask, p. 110.
  68. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, p. 232.
  69. ↑ Ó Clabaigh, p. 113.

Coordinates: 54 ° 12 ′ 7.7 "  N , 9 ° 10 ′ 37.8"  W.