Mungret Abbey is a medieval

friary 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 ...

and

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 ...

located near

Mungret Mungret () is a village and civil parish in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located close to Limerick City on the N69 national secondary road. As of the 2016 census, the village had a population of 277 people. The local church, which is dedica ...

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

, Ireland.

Location

Mungret Abbey is located immediately west of

Dooradoyle Dooradoyle ( Irish: ''Tuar an Daill'') is a large suburb of Limerick, Ireland. It is one of Limerick's newer suburbs, and is home to the campus of University Hospital Limerick and the Crescent Shopping Centre. Etymology The name Dooradoyle ( g ...

and northeast of

Mungret College Mungret College was a Jesuit apostolic school and a lay secondary school near Limerick, Ireland. Located on the western outskirts of the modern-day suburban town of Raheen, it was operational from 1882 until 1974 when it closed as a school f ...

, southwest of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

city centre, to the south of the

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary ( gle, Inbhear na Sionainne) is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to th ...

History

Mungret was an early monastic site, founded before AD 551 by Saint Nessan (Neasán) the Deacon. At one point there may have been as many as 1,500 monks and six churches operating in competition to attract followers. Some offered free loaves and salted fish to entice followers to their ceremonies on special occasions. The first Thursday of every month was devoted to developing good habits, and monks were encouraged to chant for their supper, after devout prayer. John O'Donovan claimed a fourth-century date, predating

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

. In 908,

Cormac mac Cuilennáin Cormac mac Cuilennáin (died 13 September 908) was an Irish bishop and the king of Munster from 902 until his death at the Battle of Bellaghmoon. He was killed in Leinster. Cormac was regarded as a saintly figure after his death, and his shrine ...

King of Munster The kings of Munster ( ga, Rí Mumhan), ruled from the establishment of Munster during the Irish Iron Age, until the High Middle Ages. According to Gaelic traditional history, laid out in works such as the '' Book of Invasions'', the earliest ...

, gifted the abbey three

ounces The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States customa ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and a

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

chasuble The chasuble () is the outermost liturgical vestment worn by clergy for the celebration of the Eucharist in Western-tradition Christian churches that use full vestments, primarily in Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches. In the Easter ...

. It was plundered on four occasions in the 9th century by

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

. High King

Domnall Ua Lochlainn Domhnall Ua Lochlainn (old spelling: Domnall Ua Lochlainn) (1048 – 10 February 1121), also known as Domhnall Mac Lochlainn (old spelling: Domnall Mac Lochlainn), was king of the Cenél Eogain, over-king of Ailech, and alleged High King of ...

destroyed the monastery in 1107. Mungret claimed episcopal status 1152, but was deemed to be too close to

. 1179 the then king of Munster,

Domnall Mór Ua Briain Domnall Mór Ua Briain, or Domnall Mór mac Toirrdelbaig Uí Briain, was King of Thomond in Ireland from 1168 to 1194 and a claimant to the title King of Munster. He was also styled King of Limerick, a title belonging to the O'Brien dynasty ...

, granted the monastery to Brictius,

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it still continues as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been uni ...

. Mungret then became a parish church (built 1251−72), operated by the

Augustinian Canons Regular 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 a ...

. Mungret Abbey church was used by 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 ...

until 1822. The antiquary Austin Cooper wrote about Mungret in 1781. The building was extended and the tower, the priest's living quarters, was added during the 15th century. A bell was found at Loghmore nearby, called the Bell of Mungret.

Buildings

Mungret Abbey

Located in the west of the group. A

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 ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

church with a square tower at the west.

Old Mungret Church

A small rectangular pre-Norman church with three small windows. It is not later than the 1100. There is a

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case of w ...

led doorway with inclined

jamb A jamb (from French ''jambe'', "leg"), in architecture, is the side-post or lining of a doorway or other aperture. The jambs of a window outside the frame are called “reveals.” Small shafts to doors and windows with caps and bases are know ...

s leading into the

, which is the oldest part of the church. Abbey_Church,_Mungret,_Limerick

St. Nessan's Church

Also called the Monastery Church, it is located in the north of the group. Built around the 12th century, it is rectangular with high gables, a lintelled west doorway and a small round-headed east window.

References

{{Reflist Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Limerick Archaeological sites in County Limerick National Monuments in County Limerick 6th-century establishments in Ireland Christian monasteries established in the 6th century