Errew Abbey is a former Augustinian monastery 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 spe ...

located in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

, Ireland.

Location

Errew Abbey is located on a peninsula stretching into Lough Conn.

Templenagalliaghdoo Templenagalliaghdoo is a medieval church and National Monument in County Mayo, Ireland. Location Templenagalliaghdoo is located on a peninsula stretching into Lough Conn, immediately to the north of Errew Abbey. History The name means "Chu ...

lies immediately to the north.

History

Tigernan of Errew is said to have founded a monastery here in the early 6th century. It was originally called "Mainistir Taobh Thiar do Shruth", "the abbey on the west side of the stream". Up to 1,400 students from all over Europe are claimed to have studied there. It was refounded by the Barretts in the 12th/13th century. Thomas Barrett,

Bishop of Elphin The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

, was buried here in 1404. In 1413 the Barretts founded an abbey for the Augustinian Canons, dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

; they seem to have made use of the buildings from the earlier foundation. Rather than a true abbey, it was more likely a priory cell dependent on Crossmolina Abbey. In 1413, McWattin Barrett violated the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

of Errew to seize Henry Barrett who had taken refuge there. Saint Tigernan is said to have appeared to McWattin every night until he promised to make amends; he gave the abbey an ''

éraic Éraic (or ''eric'') was the Irish equivalent of the Welsh galanas and the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian weregild, a form of tribute paid in reparation for murder or other major crimes. The term survived into the sixteenth century as ', by then r ...

'' of a quarter of land (''ceathrú mír'', about 120 acres) at Ballinbraher (Friarstown). A family called O'Flynn were erenachs of the lands at Errew and came into the possession of ''Mias Tighernain'', a

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the ...

said to have belonged to Tigernan. Errew Abbey was dissolved in 1585.

Building

There is a long rectangular church, measuring 27 × 7 m (90' by 22') which has retained some

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

-headed windows, two

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, th ...

and a

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 ...

. The east side of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against ...

is well-preserved, but it does not have the typical open

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

Gallery

File:Errew Abbey 0012.jpg File:Errew Abbey 0016.jpg File:Errew Abbey 0020.jpg

References

{{Reflist Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Mayo Archaeological sites in County Mayo National Monuments in County Mayo Monasteries dissolved under the Irish Reformation