Cong (, from ''Cúnga Fheichín'' meaning "
Saint Feichin
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Orth ...
's narrows") is a village straddling the borders of
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
and
County Mayo
County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...
, in Ireland.
Geography
Cong is situated on an island formed by a number of streams that surround it on all sides. Cong is located on the isthmus connecting Loughs
Corrib and
Mask
A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...
, near the towns of
Headford
Headford () is a small town in County Galway, located 26 km north of Galway city in the west of Ireland. It is an angling centre for the eastern shore of Lough Corrib, and Greenfields, approximately 6.5 km west of the town, is its b ...
and
Ballinrobe
Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786.
History Foundation and development
Ballinrobe is c ...
and the villages of
Clonbur, the
Neale and
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
.
Cong is known for its underground streams that connect Lough Corrib with Lough Mask to the north.
History
The 1111
Synod of Ráth Breasail
The Synod of Ráth Breasail (also known as Rathbreasail) ( Irish: ''Sionad Ráth Bhreasail'') was an Irish Catholic church council which took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and ...
included Cong (Cunga Féichin) among the five dioceses it approved for
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and ...
, but in 1152 the
Synod of Kells
The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...
excluded it from its list and assigned what would be its territory to the
archdiocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...
of
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...
. No longer a residential bishopric, Cunga Féichin is today listed by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
as a
titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
.
Cong was also the home of
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
landlord
Sir William Wilde
Sir William Robert Wills Wilde FRCSI (March 1815 – 19 April 1876) was an Irish oto- ophthalmologic surgeon and the author of significant works on medicine, archaeology and folklore, particularly concerning his native Ireland. He was the f ...
, who was also a historian and father to prominent playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
.
"The
Bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise ...
of the West",
Micheál Mac Suibhne
Mícheál or Micheál Mac Suibhne () was an Irish language bard from the Connemara Gaeltacht.
Life
Mac Suibhne was born near the ruined Abbey of Cong, then part of County Galway, but now in County Mayo. The names of his parents are not recorded, ...
, who composed his poetry and songs in
Connaught Irish
Connacht Irish () is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo (notably Tourmakeady, Achill Island and Erris) and Galway (notably in parts of Connemara and on ...
, was born at Cong around the year 1760. He spent most of his life in
Connemara
Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...
and died in poverty in about the year 1820.
![Cong, County Mayo 0355](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Cong%2C_County_Mayo_0355.jpg)
Cong was the filming location for
John Ford
John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
's 1952
Oscar
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology) ...
-winning film, ''
The Quiet Man
''The Quiet Man'' is a 1952 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by John Ford. It stars John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond and Victor McLaglen. The screenplay by Frank S. Nugent was based on a 1933 ''Saturday Ev ...
'', featuring
John Wayne,
Maureen O'Hara and
Barry Fitzgerald. Much of the film was filmed on the grounds of Ashford Castle. The town and castle area remain little changed since 1952, and Cong's connection with the movie make it a tourist attraction. (The film is still celebrated by the local "Quiet Man Fan Club").
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
records for Cong do not survive from before 1870.
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
records from the 18th and 19th centuries have survived, however, and are held at the South Mayo Family Research Centre in nearby
Ballinrobe
Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786.
History Foundation and development
Ballinrobe is c ...
.
Attractions
![AshfordCastleFromLough](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/AshfordCastleFromLough.JPG)
Cong is the home of
Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle is a medieval and Victorian castle that has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star luxury hotel near Cong on the Mayo-Galway border, on the Galway side of Lough Corrib in Ireland. It is a member of the ...
, a luxury hotel, which was converted from a Victorian faux lakeside
castle, built by the Guinness family. Ashford Castle is a tourist attraction in its own right. Cong also features a ruined medieval abbey,
Cong Abbey
Cong Abbey also known as the Royal Abbey of Cong, is a historic site located at Cong Mayo, in Ireland's province of Connacht. The ruins of the former Augustinian abbey mostly date to the 13th century and have been described as featuring some o ...
, where
Rory O'Connor, the last High King of Ireland, spent his last years. It also is the origin of a piece of
Celtic art
Celtic art is associated with the peoples known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period, as well as the art of ancient peoples whose language is uncertain, but have cultural and styli ...
in the form of a metal cross shrine called the
Cross of Cong. The 'Cross of Cong' is now held in the
National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. There is a High Cross in the village.
![Carrownagower Bridge, Cong Canal - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Carrownagower_Bridge%2C_Cong_Canal_-_geograph.org.uk_-_147637.jpg)
The Cong Canal, built over five years by the Commissioners of Public Works between 1848 and 1854 as a combined scheme to provide navigation, drainage and mill-power. In 1854 the Commissioners abandoned the navigation aspect of the scheme and instructed Samuel Roberts, their engineer, "to suspend the execution of all navigation works in this division of the district, and complete only such as were necessary for the regulation of the waters of Lough Mask, for drainage purposes." Now it is commonly known as the "Dry Canal"; the water level can vary between zero and 3.5 meters depending on the time of year (summer dry, winter full) and is 5 km in length. Built heritage features of the canal remain.
Annalistic references
From the
Annals of Tigernach
The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish.
Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-centur ...
,
Annals of Connacht
The ''Annals of Connacht'' (), covering the years 1224 to 1544, are drawn from a manuscript compiled in the 15th and 16th centuries by at least three scribes, all believed to be members of the Clan Ó Duibhgeannáin.
The early sections, commenci ...
, the
Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Flood myt ...
:
* "T1135.6 Cúnga Fheichín and
Annaghdown
Annaghdown ( ga, Eanach Dhúin, ) is a civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. It takes its name from ''Eanach Dhúin'', Irish for "the marsh of the fort". It lies around Annaghdown Bay, an inlet of Lough Corrib. Villages in the civil parish in ...
and
Roscommon
Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads.
The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who buil ...
were burned."
* "T1138.7 Amlaim Mor mac Firbisigh, ollam O Fiachrach uile re senchus & re filidhecht, & sái clerigh co m-bethaigthib ecailsi imda, & togha do Cunga, & a ec and iar m-buaidh ongtha & aithrige./ Amlaim Mor mac Firbisigh, doctor of all the Uí Fiachrach in history and poetry, a sage of a cleric with many ... of the church, and the choice of Cúnga Fheichín, died there after victory of extreme unction and repentance.
* 1168: "Flannagan Ua Dubhthaigh, bishop and chief doctor of the Irish in literature, history, and poetry, and in every kind of science known to man in his time, died in the bed of
Muireadhach Ua Dubhthaigh, at Cúnga."
* "M1184.12. Donnell Ó Flannagáin, Lord of Clann Cahill, died at Cúnga Fheichín."
* Dubthaigh Ó Dubhthaigh, Abbot of Cúnga Fheichín, died 1223
* "1226.5. Aed son of Donn Ó Sochlacháin, erenagh of Cúnga Fheichín, a man eminent for chanting and for the right tuning of harps and for having made an instrument for himself which none had made before, distinguished also in every art such as poetry, engraving and writing and in every skilled occupation, died this year."
* "1226.6. Nuala daughter of Ruaidri O Conchobair, queen of the
Ulaid
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh ( Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and i ...
, died at Cúnga Fheichín and was buried with great honour in the Canons' church there."
* "1245.4. Domnall O Flannacain, Abbot of Cúnga, died."
* "Nicol Óg, son of the abbot of Cúnga, put this Life of
Féchín out of Latin into Gaelic, and
Ó Dubhthaigh took and wrote (it); and this is the year of the age of the Lord today, 1329, etc."
Gallery
Image:Ashford_Castle_640x480.jpg, Autumn leaves at Ashford Castle
Image:Congabbeyout.jpg, Exterior of Cong Abbey
Image:cong_lock.jpg, Lock on the Dry Canal
Image:Monk_fishhouse_640x480.jpg, Monk Fishhouse
Image:Cong, Co.Mayo.jpg, Pat Cohan Bar
Image:Dying man house (location from the film The Quiet Man.jpg, location from the film The Quiet Man
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in County Mayo
Catholic titular sees in Europe