Kilmacduagh Monastery is a ruined abbey near the town of

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...

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 = ...

, Ireland. It was the birthplace of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh. It was reportedly founded by Saint Colman, son of Duagh in the 7th century, on land given him by his cousin King

Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin (died 663) was a king of Connacht. A member of the Ui Fiachrach Aidhne and son of king Colmán mac Cobthaig (died 622). Guaire ruled at the height of Ui Fiachrach Aidne power in south Connacht. Early reign Guaire app ...

of Connacht.

Overview

Kilmacduagh Monastery is located in a small village of the same name, about 5 km from the town of

. The name of the place translates as "church of Duagh's son". It was reportedly the 7th century Saint Colman, son of Duagh who established a

monastery 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 ...

here on land given to him by his cousin King

of Connacht, who had a fortified dwelling near what is today

Dunguaire Castle Dunguaire Castle ( ga, Dún Guaire) is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvara (also spelled Kinvarra). The name derives from the Dun (fort) of King Guaire, the legendary ki ...

History

As with most dates from this period, the year in which the monastery was founded is somewhat uncertain, but apparently the early 7th century is deemed the most likely. Colman was abbot/bishop at the monastery until his death. Of his successors, only one appears in the annals by name, one Indrect (died 814), before the arrival of the English. This site was of such importance in medieval times that it became the centre of a new

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, pro ...

, or Bishop's seat, the Diocese of Kilmacduagh, in the 12th century. The early monastery was victim of multiple raids and finally ruined by

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 ...

in the early 13th century. To replace it, the local lord Owen O'Heyne (died 1253) founded the abbey of St. Mary de Petra as house for the Augustinian canons. The abbey is also attributed to Bishop Maurice Ileyan (died 1283) but the architectural evidence, according to Harold Leask, allows only the later added east range of the abbey to be associated with bishop Maurice. During the reformation this was granted to the Earl of

Clanricarde Clanricarde (; ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Ter ...

. The round tower was repaired in 1879"The Cathedrals of the

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 second ...

" Day, J.G.F./ Patton, H.E. p151:

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, S.P.C.K.,

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

under the supervision of Sir Thomas Deane, with financial support from Sir

William Henry Gregory Sir William Henry Gregory PC (Ire) KCMG (13 July 1816 – 6 March 1892) was an Anglo-Irish writer and politician, who is now less remembered than his wife Augusta, Lady Gregory, the playwright, co-founder and Director of Dublin's Abbey Theatre, ...

of Coole Park. The Diocese of Kilmacduagh is now incorporated into the United Dioceses of Tuam and Limerick in the Church of Ireland and in the Roman Catholic divisions, into the

Diocese of Galway The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora ( ga, Deoise na Gaillimhe, Chill Mhic Duaich agus Chill Fhionnúrach) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject ...

Today

The ruins of the monastery are sometimes referred to as "the seven Churches". However, not all of these buildings were actually churches, none of them dates back to the 7th century. The buildings are: * The abbey church, former cathedral, or ''Teampuil Mor'', in the graveyard * The "Church of Mary" or ''Teampuil Muire'' (also known as "The Lady's Church"), east of the road * The "Church of St. John the Baptist" or ''Teampuil Eoin Baiste'', to the north of the graveyard * The "Abbot's House" or ''Seanclogh'', further north, close to the road * ''Teampuil Beg Mac Duagh'', south of the graveyard * The "Monastery Church" or "O'Heyne's Church" (or "O'Heyne's Abbey"), ca. 180 metres north-east of the graveyard (13th century) * The round tower, roughly 15 metres south-west of the cathedral The

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and fu ...

is notable both as a fine example of this particularly Irish feature but also because of its noticeable lean, over half a metre from the vertical. The tower is over tall, according to measurements taken in 1879, with the only doorway some 7 metres above ground level. The tower probably dates from the 10th century.

Legends

According to legend, Saint Colman MacDuagh was walking through the woods of

the Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burren ...

when his

girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including th ...

fell to the ground. Taking this as a sign, he built his monastery on that spot. The girdle was said to be studded with

gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

s and was held by the O'Shaughnessys centuries later, along with St. Colman's

crozier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

, or staff. The girdle was later lost, but the crozier came to be held by the O'Heynes and may now be seen in the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

. It is said that, in the Diocese of Kilmacduagh, no man will ever die from

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

. This legend was put to the test when one unlucky soul was struck, but the force of the bolt made him fly through the air into neighbouring

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

, where he died.

References

* ''A New History of Ireland'', volume 9, pp. 330–331. * Fahey, Jerome, ''The history and antiquities of the diocese of Kilmacduagh'', Dublin, M. H. Gill & son, 1893. (available onlin
at archive.org

Annalistic references

* ''814. Innreachtach, Bishop of Cill Mic Duach;'' * ''846. Colman, son of Donncothaigh, successor of Colman, of Cill Mic Duach, died.'' * ''M1199.10. John de Courcy, with the English of Ulidia, and the son of Hugo De Lacy, with the English of Meath, marched to Kilmacduagh'' to assist Cathal Crovderg O'Conor. Cathal Carragh, accompanied by the Connacians, came, and gave them battle: and the English of Ulidia and Meath were defeated with such slaughter that, of their five battalions, only two survived; and these were pursued from the field of battle to Rindown on Lough Ree, in which place John was completely hemmed in. Many of his English were killed, and others were drowned; for they found no passage by which to escape, except by crossing the lake in boats.''