Greatconnell Priory East Window 2013 09 05

Great Connell Priory () is a former house of

Augustinian canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...

dedicated to Saint Mary and

Saint David Saint David ( cy, Dewi Sant; la, Davidus; ) was a Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail abo ...

, situated on the eastern side of the River Liffey, in the Barony of Connell just to the south-east of the town of Newbridge,

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, Republic of Ireland. The priory was founded in 1202 as a dependency of Llanthony Priory in Wales by the illegitimate grandson of the Angevin King Henry II,

Meiler fitz Henry Meiler FitzHenry (sometimes spelled Meilyr; died 1220) was a Cambro-Norman nobleman and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland during the Lordship of Ireland. Background and early life Meilyr FitzHenry was the son of Henry FitzHenry, an illegitimate son ...

, who also founded abbeys in Laois, Clonfert and Killaloe. It was located just north of a ford across the River Liffey, known as Connell Ford. It was endowed with extensive lands in the baronies of Connell and Carbury and elsewhere in Ireland. In 1203 the last King of the Ui Faeláin, Faeláin Mac Faeláin, died as a monk there. The founder entered the priory himself in 1216 and died there in 1220. It was a rule of the house that only English monks could be admitted; it does not seem that this rule was always enforced, although, in 1537, when the priory was threatened with closure, the prior assured Thomas Cromwell that no Irish brother had ever been admitted. Great Connell became one of the principal

monasteries 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 m ...

of the Pale and acquired substantial property. In 1455 the King granted it power to acquire lands to a yearly value of £10. At its height, it was estimated to own 1260 acres of land, 6 churches, 5 castles and a mill. A statute of the Parliament of Ireland of 1475 authorised the Abbott to deal with Abbey's property in the "lands of the King's enemies" i.e. territories controlled by hostile

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 ...

clans, without committing a crime as would otherwise be the case. The Abbot was also permitted to enter

contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

with the Irish for the purchase or sale of land and foodstuffs. The prior was also frequently a member of the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

,''Patent Roll 20 Henry VI'' as Prior Philip Stroyle was in the 1430s, Prior Nicholas in the 1460s, and Prior Walter Wellesley in the 1520s. Kildare Cathedral Tomb of Walter Wellesley 2013 09 04

Kildare Cathedral Tomb of Walter Wellesley 2013 09 04

The most powerful prior of Great Connell was

Walter Wellesley Walter Wellesley (c.1470-1539) was a sixteenth-century Irish cleric and judge. He was Prior of Great Connell Priory, Bishop of Kildare 1529-39, and Master of the Rolls in Ireland 1531-2. Background and early career He was born about 1470, the se ...

, who was appointed before 1520, and who remained prior even after he became

Bishop of Kildare The Bishop of Kildare was an episcopal title which took its name after the town of Kildare in County Kildare, Ireland. The title is no longer in use by any of the main Christian churches having been united with other bishoprics. In the Roman Cath ...

in 1529. He had considerable influence with Henry VIII, and at the suppression of the religious houses, he used all his influence to save Great Connell. He was successful in the short term, but his death in 1539 left the priory without an influential protector. The priory was suppressed c. 1540 with the consent of the last prior Robert Wellesley, and the property was granted first to Edward Randolfe, then to Sir Nicholas White in 1560, and to Sir Edmond Butler in 1566. Much of the original masonry was removed from the priory and used in the construction of the British Cavalry Barracks in Newbridge in the early 19th century. At that time the top of the tomb of Walter Wellesley and some other fragments were discovered and built into the wall of the cemetery at the site.Information displayed on top of the tomb in Kildare Cathedral. The tomb of Walter Wellesley was moved in 1971 to

Kildare Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St. Brigid, Kildare, in Kildare, County Kildare, is one of two cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare of the Church of Ireland in Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. History Early hi ...

and reconstructed by the County Kildare Archaeological Society with financial support by Gerald Wellesley, 7th Duke of Wellington.

References

See also