Skreen () is a small village and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

, Ireland.

History

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of Co ...

, the first biographer of St

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

(Colmcille) and one of his successors at

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

, first served as abbot at Skreen Abbey, which allegedly acquired its name from the relics of Adomnán. The abbey was possessed by

Viking 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 ...

raiders in the ninth century, who pillaged and razed it. Besides his Columba biography, Adomnán is known for the ga,

Cáin Adomnáin The ''Cáin Adomnáin'' (Law of Adomnán), also known as the ''Lex Innocentium'' (Law of Innocents), was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish, Dál Riatan and Pictish notables at the Synod of Birr in 697. It is named after its initiator Ado ...

the "Law of the Innocents", protecting women, children, and other non-combatants from being casualties of war. The name Adamnan is, according to ''

Cormac's Glossary ''Sanas Cormaic'' (or ''Sanas Chormaic'', Irish for "Cormac's narrative"), also known as ''Cormac's Glossary'', is an early Irish glossary containing etymologies and explanations of over 1,400 Irish words, many of which are difficult or outdated. ...

'', an Irish diminutive of Adam. It is generally pronounced in three syllables, but its proper Irish pronunciation is ''Awnaun'', the "d" and the "m" being both aspirated. In the life of St Farannan, published by Colgan, we are informed that Tibraide, lord of Tir Fhiachrach, bestowed on St Columba a place called ga, Cnoc-na-maoile; but that it was subsequently called ga, Scrín-Adhamhnain from a shrine that saint erected there. From this shrine the parish of Skreen in County Sligo derived its name. There, he is called Awnaun, and his well, Toberawnaun (which gives name to a townland), lies a little south of the old church.P. W. Joyce, ''Irish Names of Places'', p. 156. The Abbey, of which there is no remaining trace, was located at the site of the present Skreen

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 ...

church, next to which are an old graveyard and the extensive remains of the medieval church. Within the ruin is the gravesite of Reverend Gabriel Stokes, a 19th-century

parson A parson is an ordained Christian person responsible for a small area, typically a parish. The term was formerly often used for some Anglican clergy and, more rarely, for ordained ministers in some other churches. It is no longer a formal term d ...

of the Church of Ireland parish and father of mathematician

Sir George Stokes Sir George Gabriel Stokes, 1st Baronet, (; 13 August 1819 – 1 February 1903) was an Irish English physicist and mathematician. Born in County Sligo, Ireland, Stokes spent all of his career at the University of Cambridge, where he was the Lu ...

. In the graveyard may be found many fine 18th-19th-century limestone box tombs, the most celebrated of which is the 1824 Alexander Black tomb, carved by "Old Frank" Diamond. His descendants are still, after seven generations, in the stonecutting business on the Coast Road. Also in the parish are the considerable ruins of Ardnaglass Castle, originally a possession of the

O'Dowd O'Dowd ( ga, Ó Dubhda) is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Mayo and County Sligo. The clan name originated in the 9th century as a derivative of its founder Dubda mac Connmhach. They descend in the paternal ...

s, then the MacSweeneys, and after the Cromwellian conquest the Joneses and the Blacks. It is just off the Coast Road on Protestant lane. It is now owned by Gerry Clarke. There are two churches in Skreen, one

and the other

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. The Spiritual Life Institute, a Catholic order consisting of "apostolic hermits", also has a retreat centre in Skreen.

People

Thady Connellan Thady Connellan ( ga, Tadhg Ó Coinnialláinn) (1780–1854) was an Irish school-teacher, poet and historian. Life He was born in Skreen, County Sligo, and was a relative of the scholar Owen Connellan. He started a school of his own, but had ...

(Tadhg Ó Coinnialláinn) Poet (1780-1854) * Sir George Gabriel Stokes Mathematician and physicist (1819–1903). * John Whitley Stokes, Archdeacon of Armagh, elder brother of the previous (1801-1883). *

William Tirry William Tirry OSA (1609 – 12 May 1654) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest of the Order of Saint Augustine. He suffered martyrdom in Clonmel in the context of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1992. Lif ...

(1609-1654),

martyred A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

References

Towns and villages in County Sligo {{Sligo-geo-stub

History

People

See also

References