Cong Abbey also known as the Royal Abbey of Cong, is a historic site located at Cong

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

, in

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 ...

's province of

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 Delbhn ...

. The ruins of the former

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 ...

abbey mostly date to the 13th century and have been described as featuring some of finest examples of medieval ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland.

History

In the early 7th century, a church was built at this site, reportedly by

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 Ortho ...

. A later building was destroyed by fire in 1114. Within the next twenty years or so, Turlough Mor O’Connor, the

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned ana ...

, refounded the abbey. Raiders from

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

destroyed the buildings in 1137 but they were rebuilt by King Turlough. The Abbey was refounded as an

settlement in 1138. It was one of the earliest Augustinian settlements south of

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

, which was founded in 1126. In 1198, his son,

Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair Ruaidrí mac Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (Modern Irish: Ruairí Ó Conchúir; anglicized as Rory O'Conor) ( – 2 December 1198) was Kings of Connacht, King of Connacht from 1156 to 1186, and High King of Ireland from 1166 to 1198. He was the l ...

(Rory O'Connor), Ireland's last High King, constructed new buildings and also lived the last 15 years of his life at the abbey. He died here and was reportedly briefly buried in the abbey before being exhumed and re-interred at

Clonmacnoise Clonmacnoise (Irish: ''Cluain Mhic Nóis'') is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th ce ...

. Cong Abbey was also closely associated with the O'Duffy family from at least 1097 to 1501. 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 medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

record that in 1150,

Muireadhach Ua Dubhthaigh Muireadhach Ua Dubhthaigh (fl. c. 1075–1150) was an Archbishop of Connacht, in Ireland. Background A member of a Connacht ecclesiastical family, Ua Dubhthaigh was born during the reign of King Áed Ua Ruairc (r. 1067–1087). His family were n ...

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, died at Cong aged 75. His name is inscribed upon the processional

Cross of Cong The ''Cross of Cong'' ( ga, Cros Chonga, "the yellow baculum") is an early 12th-century Irish Christian ornamented cusped processional cross, which was, as an inscription says, made for Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (d. 1156), King of Connacht an ...

. Stokes, Margaret. Early Christian Art in Ireland. Part 1. London: Chapman and Hall Limited, 1887–1894 The

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

knight

William de Burgh William de Burgh (; ; ; la, de Burgo; c.1160–winter 1205/06) was the founder of the House of Burgh (later surnamed Burke or Bourke) in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. I ...

attacked Cong in 1203, and again the abbey was rebuilt. In the 1307 the abbey was reconstructed and dedicated to

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. Cong Abbey was suppressed sometime after 1542 and later fell into ruins. The last (nominal) abbot was Father Patrick Prendergast, parish priest of Cong from 1795 until his death in 1829. He was the preserver of the

. After his death, the cross was bought by

James MacCullagh James MacCullagh (1809 – 24 October 1847) was an Irish mathematician. Early Life MacCullagh was born in Landahaussy, near Plumbridge, County Tyrone, Ireland, but the family moved to Curly Hill, Strabane when James was about 10. He was the e ...

for the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

. The first restoration of the abbey was started by

Benjamin Guinness Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet (1 November 1798 – 19 May 1868) was an Irish brewer and philanthropist. Brewer Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness (1768–1855), and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson of ...

in 1855, soon after he had bought nearby

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 Le ...

in 1852.

Architecture

The remains of Cong Abbey have been praised as featuring some of the finest examples of early gothic architecture and masonry in Ireland. The present church, and possibly the fragmentary cloister where the monks worked and prayed, belong to the rebuilding of the early 13th century. The north doorway of the church, and the elaborate doorways that open onto the cloister from the east range of the monastery, may pre-date the attack by William de Burgo. The doorway with two fine windows on either side belongs to the chapter house, where the monastery's daily business was conducted as well as a chapter of the

rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Education * Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), a university in Cambodia Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule perta ...

being read each day. This was also where the community gathered to confess their sins publicly. The sculpture in the abbey, which is some of the finest in Ireland, suggests links to French styles of the period. The grounds of the abbey also contain a monks' fishing house, probably built in the 15th or 16th century, on an island in the River Cong leading towards nearby

Lough Corrib Lough Corrib ( ; ) is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Nea ...

. The house is built on a platform of stones over a small arch which allows the river to flow underneath the floor. There is a trapdoor in the floor in which the fish may have been kept fresh. According to local tradition, a line was connected from the fishing house to the monastery kitchen to alert the cook to fresh fish.

Today

Cong Abbey is a national monument in the care of the Commissioners for Public Works.

Gallery

File:NorthDoorwayCongAbbey.JPG, The North doorway File:CongCloisters.JPG, Cong Abbey cloisters File:MonksFishingHouse.JPG, Monks' Fishing House File:Monk_fishhouse_640x480.jpg, Monks' Fishing House Closeup File:RoryO’ConnorDoorway.JPG, Doorway in Cong Abbey grounds with carving of Rory O’Connor File:Rory_O'Connor_Stone_Carving.jpg, Closeup of stone carving of Rory O’Connor File:Cong Abbey 0344.jpg

References

External links

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's book on Lough Corrib {{Authority control 7th-century establishments in Ireland Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Cong, County Mayo, Abbey Islands of County Mayo Medieval architecture Monasteries dissolved under the Irish Reformation National Monuments in County Mayo Religion in County Mayo Ruins in the Republic of Ireland River islands of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Mayo

History

Architecture

Today

Gallery

See also

References

External links