The Priory of St. Mary in Cahir, known as Cahir Abbey, was a
medieval priory of
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 ...
and 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 spe ...
located in
Cahir
Cahir (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Iffa and Offa West.
Location and access
For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the Dubli ...
, Ireland.
Location
Cahir Abbey is located north of
Cahir Castle, on the west bank of the
River Suir
The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of .
The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2. .
History
The priory was founded in the late 12th century AD. Galfrid de Camville,
Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to:
*Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066
*Anglo-Norman language
**Anglo-Norman literature
*Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...
Baron of Cahir and Fedamore, made a grant to its
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...
c. 1200.
St Mary’s priory is a multi phased, with evidence of the original 13th century buildings and further alterations and additions in the 15th and 16th/17th centuries.
The priory was
dissolved in 1540 and surrendered by prior Edmond O'Lonergan; the church, parochial and conventual buildings were occupied by Sir Thomas Butler by January 1541. The priory was alienated by William Hutchinson and Edward Walshe 1561 and granted to Edmond Butler in 1566.
Buildings
The
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.
...
of the church survives, with a row of windows in the north wall; also there are carved
corbel
In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s and
mouldings in
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
.
There is a residential tower, apparently seventeenth century in date, immediately west of the chancel.
There are also a cloister and domestic buildings.
Mason's marks
A mason's mark is an engraved symbol often found on dressed stone in buildings and other public structures.
In stonemasonry
Regulations issued in Scotland in 1598 by James VI's Master of Works, William Schaw, stated that on admission to the guil ...
are visible.
hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, hood, label mould (from Latin ''labia'', lip), drip mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater, historically often in form of a ''pediment''. This mouldin ...
File:Cahir Priory of St. Mary Choir East Wall Double Piscina 2012 09 05.jpg, double piscina
A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman Ca ...
File:Cahir Priory of St. Mary Tower Doorway Celtic Knot 2012 09 05.jpg, A carved Celtic knot
Celtic knots ( ga, snaidhm Cheilteach, cy, cwlwm Celtaidd, kw, kolm Keltek, gd, snaidhm Ceilteach) are a variety of knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, used extensively in the Celtic style of Insular ...
File:Cahir Priory of St. Mary Second Tower 2012 09 05.jpg, tower at the south-east corner of the cloister which was erected after the priory was dissolved
References
{{Reflist
Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland
Religion in County Tipperary
Archaeological sites in County Tipperary
National Monuments in County Tipperary
Cahir
Monasteries dissolved under the Irish Reformation