Fuerty (historically ''Fewerty'', from ) is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

on the R366 regional road near the town of

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 ...

in County Roscommon,

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 ...

. Fuerty is known for a ruined church and ancient graveyard on the site of a Celtic Christian abbey.

Church and graveyard

It is said that Saint Patrick visited Fuerty and left a deacon to found a monastic settlement here. The deacon, Justus, baptised Saint Ciarán, a local man around the year 500. Ciaran went on to found

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 cen ...

, which became one of the most important monasteries and centres of learning in Europe. Two 8th century granite grave slabs in the west side of the tower bear inscriptions that can still be read. One of them bears the name of Ardeachan, Abbot of Clonmacnoise. The abbey was attacked and destroyed by the English Elizabethan invaders and all its monks were slain. Later, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, it is claimed in a book by

Skeffington Gibbon Skeffington Gibbon (fl. c. 1796) was an Irish writer. The name "Skeffington Gibbon" is a pseudonym, as may also be "Augustus O'Kelly", the name that appears in the first version of his most famous book, published privately by O'Kelly himself in 1 ...

(published in 1829) that Cromwellian troops, under the leadership of Colonel (or Major) Ormsby, 'immolated' (i.e. killed by fire) more than one hundred elderly clergy at Fuerty abbey. The existing ruins are of a 17th-century Church of Ireland. The tower was added in 1790 but the church was destroyed by fire in 1870.

References

Towns and villages in County Roscommon Civil parishes of County Roscommon {{Roscommon-geo-stub

Church and graveyard

See also

References