Lackeen Castle, a tower house within a

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional spe ...

built in the 12th century as a

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

stronghold (rebuilt in the 16th century). The castle is a

national monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

in state ownership and is located in the townland of Abbeville near to Lorrha in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is occasionally open to the public. Close by, stands Lackeen House dating from around 1730.

Lorrha Missal

It was at Lackeen Castle that the Lorrha Missal, which is strictly speaking a sacramentary rather than a

missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...

, was found. An Irish

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...

written mainly in Latin with some

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

in the late eighth or early ninth century, probably after 792. In the mid-11th century it was annotated and some pages rewritten at Lorrha Monastery. It is also known as the "Stowe" Missal as it once belonged to the

Stowe manuscripts The Stowe manuscripts are a collection of about two thousand Irish, Anglo-Saxon and later medieval manuscripts, nearly all now in the British Library. The manuscripts date from 1154 to the end of the 14th century. The manuscripts were originally c ...

collection formed by George Nugent-Temple-Grenville, 1st Marquess of Buckingham at

Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust who have to date (March 2013) spent more than £25m on th ...

. When the collection was bought by the nation in 1883, it and the other Irish manuscripts were handed over to 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 ...

in Dublin, where it remains, catalogued as MS D II 3. The

cumdach A (, in Irish "cover"Joynt (1917), p. 186) or book shrine is an elaborate ornamented metal reliquary box or case used to hold Early Medieval Irish manuscripts or relics. They are typically later than the book they contain, often by several c ...

reliquary A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...

case which up to this point had survived together with the book was later transferred, with the rest of the Academy's collection of antiquities, to 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 ...

(museum number 1883, 614a). The old story was that the manuscript and shrine left Ireland after about 1375, as they were collected on the Continent in the 18th century, but this appears to be incorrect, as they were found here at Lackeen Castle in the 18th century.Wallace, Patrick, Ó Floinn, Raghnall eds. ''Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities'', 2002, Gill & Macmillan, Dublin,

References

{{reflist Castles in County Tipperary Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Lorrha