Canon Island Abbey (or Canons' Island Abbey) (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Mainistir Oileán na gCanánach'') is a ruined

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

located on the extreme northeast corner of

Canon Island Canon Island (''Inis na Canánach'' in Irish) is an island situated in the River Shannon, about east of the village of Kildysart, County Clare in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in ...

(Inisgad) on the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Shan ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

History

Canon Island (or Innisgad) was originally called ''Elanagranoch''. The abbey was founded in the late twelfth century. The 270 acre island was granted to the

Canons from

Clare Abbey Clare Abbey, also known as Clareabbey, is a ruined Augustinian monastery located near the Town of Ennis, along the banks of the Fergus River, and about a mile north of Clarecastle in County Clare, Ireland. The Abbey, founded in 1189, was the la ...

in 1189 by

Domnall Mór Ua Briain Domnall Mór Ua Briain, or Domnall Mór mac Toirrdelbaig Uí Briain, was King of Thomond in Ireland from 1168 to 1194 and a claimant to the title King of Munster. He was also styled King of Limerick, a title belonging to the O'Brien dynasty ...

(Donald O'Brien), king of

Thomond Thomond (Classical Irish: ; Modern Irish: ), also known as the kingdom of Limerick, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Clare and County Limerick, as well as parts of County Tipperary around Nenag ...

. There are no written records of the abbey until the end of the 14th century. In 1393, a papal document describes the abbey as "so destroyed alike in respect of its buildings as of its books, chalices, and likewise of its temporal goods as to be threatened with ruin". The papal letter offered

indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The '' Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God o ...

s to any who would help repair the abbey. The abbey was built on land donated to the Augustinian canons at Clare Abbey, but was a separate community and not dependent upon the larger abbey. The monastery prospered until it was dissolved by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

in 1540 and the island, monastery and its associated assets and income were granted to

Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond and Baron Ibrickan, PC (Ire) (died 1624), was a Protestant Irish nobleman and soldier. He fought for Queen Elizabeth during Tyrone's Rebellion and participated in the Siege of Kinsale. He obtained the tran ...

. By 1577, Canon Island belonged to Queen Elizabeth. The monks continued to live on the island until it was attacked by Cromewellian forces in 1651. The abbey was bombed during the attack and several monks were killed. After that time, the monastery was unable to continue its religious function. Over the next few hundred years, ownership of the island passed thru succeeding generations of Earls of Thomond until the island eventually passed to local families. The island population was at its height in 1841 at 54 people. By 1966, the census recorded Canon Island as being uninhabited. Since 1990, an annual pilgrimage of island descendants and nearby villagers travel to Canon Island in July to celebrate mass at the abbey. Cannon_Island_Abbey

Description

Canon Island Abbey is located on Canon Island, in County Clare, Ireland. The island is situated in the

, east of Inishtubbrid Island and 2.5 km east of the village of

Kildysart Kildysart, officially Killadysert (), is a village in County Clare, Ireland and a civil and Roman Catholic parish by the same name that surrounds the village. Location The parish lies on the east border of the barony of Clonderalaw. It is and ...

. It is the largest of 25 small islands that span the crossing of the Shannon and Fergus estuaries. The abbey ruins are located on the north-eastern corner of the 270 acre island. The remaining abbey buildings consist of a church with Romanesque windows, two adjoining chapels, a belfry, a cloister and a large square tower. Roofs are missing from all of the standing buildings. Buildings to the east would have had a sacristy, chapter house and dormitory for the monks. The south range had a kitchen and

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries. The name derives from the La ...

. The abbey's cemetery has several graves.

History

Description

See also

References

Further reading