Monasternagalliaghduff

Coordinates: 52°34′17″N 9°03′47″W / 52.5713°N 9.0630°W / 52.5713; -9.0630

Remains of St Katherine's Abbey

Monasternagalliaghduff (Mainistir na gCailleach Dubh;[1] Irish for "Black Nuns' Abbey"[2]), also called the Abbey of St Catherine de O'Conyl[3] or simply Old Abbey,[2] is a ruined Augustinian abbey in County Limerick in Ireland. The abbey lies in a small valley about two miles east of the village of Shanagolden, in the townland of Oldabbey (named after it) in the civil parish of Robertstown, and barony of Shanid (formerly part of the barony of Connello or O'Conyl).[2][1]

History

One of the earliest recorded nunneries in Ireland,[4] it is first mentioned in 1298, and was founded on land donated by John FitzThomas of Connello (who died in 1261).[5]:43 fn.3 It was dissolved in 1541 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Reformation in Ireland.

Folklore

Some legends relate to the Abbey:

  • Prior to the dissolution it was said that the last abbess practised witchcraft in a room to the south of the church which is now called 'The Black Hag's Cell'. This legend was probably propaganda in furtherance of the dissolution. Wardell suggests the legend might have arisen if a nun remained after the dissolution, and that later people may have misunderstood cailleach dhubh (archaic for "nun") as "black hag".[5]:50-52[4][6]
  • During a feud between the Earl of Desmond and the Butlers, the Desmonds were fleeing the nunnery when the Countess was wounded by an arrow. The Earl, believing her dead, hastily interred her under the church altar; but she had been buried alive, and her screams echo through the ruins to this day.[5]:50

Architecture

Remains include the abbey church to the east of the cloister and refectory to the south.[2] Modifications to the church in the 15th Century saw the inclusion of an east window in the church as well as a doorway in the north.

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 "Mainistir na gCailleach Dubh/Monasternagalliaghduff". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Begley, John (1906). The diocese of Limerick, ancient and medieval". Dublin: Browne & Nolan. pp. 374–377.
  3. ↑ "St Catherine de O'Conyl". Monastic Matrix. Ohio State University. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  4. 1 2 Bord Fáilte (2000). Ireland Guide. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. p. 157. ISBN 9780717128877.
  5. 1 2 3 Wardell 1904
  6. ↑ Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977). "cailleach". Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla. senses 1 and 2(a). Retrieved 26 May 2017.

Sources

  • Wardell, John; Westropp, T. J. (31 March 1904). "The History and Antiquities of St. Catherine's, Old Abbey, County Limerick". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 34 [5th ser. vol.14] (1): 41–64. JSTOR 25507346.
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