Athy Priory is a former friary of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...

located in

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kild ...

, Ireland.

Location

Athy Priory is located in the south of the town, on the east bank of the

River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...

History

Athy Priory was founded by the Boiseles (Boysel) and Hogans in 1253, although some sources give the date as 1257. John of Slane gave them six acres, and

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

consented to this grant. In 1288, 1295 and 1305,

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

of the order were held at Athy. The priory was dissolved 30 April 1539 and rented to Martin Pelles,

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of Athy, on 26 April 1540. At that time, the priory owned two fishing-weirs, a

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

, while the buildings were a church and belfry,

chapter-house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

, hall, three chambers and a kitchen, a cemetery, garden and

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

. In 1588 the priory was granted to

Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare Henry FitzGerald, 12th Earl of Kildare (1562 – 30 September 1597) was an Irish peer and soldier. Background Kildare was the second son of Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare and Mabel Browne. cites His eldest brother died in 1580, and Hen ...

. Athy was refounded c.1622 by Fr Ross Mageoghegan. Friars also returned in 1754. The chapel was enlarged 1864-7 but the priory was dissolved mid-19th century. A new church was built and opened 17 March 1965. The old church was demolished in 1973. A library was later built on the site.

References

External links

*{{Youtube, 0OgWK_yZGmI, Clane Friary, Co. Kildare, Ireland Religion in County Kildare Dominican monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Archaeological sites in County Kildare Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 1253 establishments in Ireland