Kilcooley Abbey is a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

near the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Gortnahoe in

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

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 ...

. The abbey is located within the grounds of the Kilcooley Estate. This abbey dates from 1182 when Donal Mor O’Brien granted lands to the

Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

, to build an abbey here. The abbey, which is a sister house to both

Jerpoint Abbey Jerpoint Abbey () is a ruined Cistercian abbey, founded in the second half of the 12th century in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located 2.5 km south west of Thomastown on the R448 regional road. There is a visitor centre with an exhibit ...

and Holy Cross Abbey, is located inside a private walled estate. However, the abbey is open to the public. After the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, Kilcooley passed into the possession of the Earl of Ormond. It was granted to the English-born judge Sir

Jerome Alexander Sir Jerome Alexander (c.1585–1670) was an English-born barrister, judge and politician, who spent much of his career in Ireland (after he had been professionally ruined in England), and became a substantial Irish landowner. He was a noted benef ...

in the 1630s. It passed to his daughter Elizabeth, and then through marriage to the

Barker baronets There have been five baronetcies created for persons with the surname Barker, three in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Great Britain and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. All five creations are extinct. The Barke ...

of Bocking Hall, the last of whom died in 1818.

Structure

The main part of the abbey consists of the entrance chamber, the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, the

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

, and the

sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...

. The entrance chamber has a carved

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

on its south wall. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of the church is still roofed, but the rest of it is out in the open. The church has two large carved windows on its east and west side. The chancel contains two stone tombs and a stone altar. One of these tombs is that of the knight Piers Fitz Oge Butler. His tomb records his death as taking place in 1526, and has some carvings of 10 apostles on the side of it carved by Rory O Tunney, who is also noted for his work in

. On top of the Butler tomb, there is the effigy of a knight with a dog curled up at his feet. The

is entered through a carved archway that has many carvings, such as a scene depicting the crucifixion and a mermaid holding a mirror, which was meant to depict vanity.

Roger Stalley Roger Andrew Stalley (born 12 June 1945) is a scholar and teacher in medieval architecture and sculpture. His speciality is Early Gothic and Romanesque architecture and sculpture in England and Western Europe with a particular focus on Irish arch ...

suspects this screen wall may represent the entrance to a private Butler chapel, as two Butler shields are depicted. The east end of the nave contains seats for the officiating clergy which have been carved into the crossing piers. Outside the abbey, there is also a beehive-shaped ruin. It is not known whether this was used as a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "'' colu ...

to store ashes or a dove-cote for pigeons. But most probably it was a dove-cote since there is a wide hole in the ceiling from which they would have entered and left. Also outside the abbey is the

infirmary Infirmary may refer to: *Historically, a hospital, especially a small hospital *A first aid room in a school, prison, or other institution *A dispensary (an office that dispenses medications) *A clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambu ...

which is still in fairly good condition although access to its roof is blocked. The

cloisters A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

of the abbey are long gone with only one column still remaining. The path of the cloisters though still remains with a pebbled walkway around the grass square. The centre even has a large tree growing in it. Beside the cloisters, the

parlour A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessar ...

and

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

are still there. Also, the

calefactory The calefactory (also ''warming house'') was an important room or building in a medieval monastery in Western Europe. It was here that a communal fire was kept so that the monks could warm themselves after long hours of study in the (unheated) c ...

(warming room) still remains but without a roof. And on the south side of the cloisters, the

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 ...

(monks' dining hall) still stands. Although it has no roof, it still has a spiral staircase, but this has been barred up. The rooms on the second floor include the dortoir and the main tower — locked up by the Office of Public Works. The parlour, chapter house, and calefactory are also barred. Kilcooly Abbey was also used in the making of the film "''Excalibur''" by

John Boorman Sir John Boorman (; born 18 January 1933) is a British film director, best known for feature films such as ''Point Blank'' (1967), ''Hell in the Pacific'' (1968), ''Deliverance'' (1972), ''Zardoz'' (1974), '' Exorcist II: The Heretic'' (1977), ...

, which is based on the tale of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. There is a pyramid structure on the grounds of the abbey.

Burials

John Butler of Clonamicklon John Butler of Clonamicklon (or of Lismalin), (1305 – 6 January 1330) was born in Arklow, Wicklow, Ireland the youngest son of Edmund Butler, Earl of Carrick and Joan FitzGerald. Once older he moved north from Lismalin and established a junior ...

(died

1330 Year 1330 ( MCCCXXX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * July 28 – Battle of Velbazhd: The Bulgarians under Tsar Michael Shishman (who is ...

)

Gallery

File:Knights Tomb.jpg, alt=, Knight's tomb File:Cloister Tree.jpg, alt=, Tree in the garth File:Monks Dining Hall.jpg, Refectory File:Sacristy Arch.jpg, alt=, Archway to the sacristy

References

External links

Writings of the late Canon J.J.. Larnbe

Historic Graves
{{coord, 52.671, N, 7.563, W, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Cistercian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland National Monuments in County Tipperary Religion in County Tipperary Ruins in the Republic of Ireland 1182 establishments in Ireland Religious organizations established in the 1180s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century

Structure

Burials

Gallery

See also

References

External links