O'Dea
O'Dea ( ; , formerly ), is an Irish surname derived from ', the name of a tenth-century clan chieftain. According to historian C. Thomas Cairney, the O'Deas were one of the chiefly families of the Dal gCais or Dalcassians who were a tribe of ...
Church ( Irish: ''Díseart Uí Dheá'' - "the hermitage of Deá") near Corofin in
County Clare
County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
stands on the site of an early Christian monastery which is thought to have been founded by St. Tola in the 8th century. Most of the present structures are from the 12th century.
The site has been designated a National Monument of Ireland.
Architecture
The remains of the monastic site include "St. Tola's Church", a
round tower
A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...
, "St. Tola's Well" and "St. Tola's Cross".
Church
The church stands on the site of the original monastery, reportedly founded by St. Tola in the 8th century. The ruined Romanesque structure visible today mainly dates to the 12th century and is over 30 metres long. The lancet windows in the east gable were additions from the early 13th century. The stone arch, showing twelve human and seven animal heads, also dates to the 13th century. Inside the church is the grave of Joan O'Dea, wife of the last clan chieftain, Michael O'Dea (dating to 1684).
Round tower
The late 11th-century round tower was converted into a fortification in the 16th century. It was severely damaged by artillery fire by Cromwellian troops in 1651. Of an estimated original height of around 30 metres, only about a third still remains. An old bronze bell discovered in 1790 was taken to Corofin and sold to pay for the current church bell. In the 1850s, Edward Synge, the local landlord, made repairs to the tower.
St. Tola's Well is a pre-Christian well that was the site of an annual pilgrimage on 30 March. In the 1860s the landlord had the well paved over but it was reopened in 1986.
High Cross
A
high cross
A high cross or standing cross (, , ) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. Th ...
, the so-called "St. Tola's Cross", is located in a field to the east of the church. It dates to the 12th century. The upper part shows the
crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
, while on the shaft is the figure of a bishop, with the back and sides showing Irish interlacing work.Meehan, p. 460. The cross was knocked over by the Cromwellian soldiers but repaired by Michael O'Dea in 1683. Since he used stones from the church to set up the pedestal, the church building must have fallen into disuse by then. The Synge family again restored the cross in 1871. In 1960, the cross was temporarily dismantled and shipped to Barcelona for an exhibition on Irish art.
Nearby
This monastic site is part of the ''Dysert O'Dea Archaeological Trail''. There are many more historical sites in the immediate vicinity including
O'Dea Castle
O'Dea Castle, also known as Dysert O'Dea Castle, is an Irish fortified tower house, loosely described as a castle at Dysert O'Dea (), the former O'Dea clan stronghold, from Corofin, County Clare.ring forts, the remains of a ''
fulacht fiadh
A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon ...
'', and the ruins of a stone Victorian house dating from 1861.
Synge's Lodge is a ruined guest house, originally built in the
Georgian style
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...
not far from the church ruins. The Synge coat of arms with the motto ''Caelesta canimes'' remains over the door. The Synge's local agent lived in nearby Mollaneen House, built c. 1780. This had a walled garden and orchard.
The
Battle of Dysert O'Dea
The Battle of Dysert O'Dea took place on 10 May 1318 at Dysert O'Dea near Corofin, Ireland. It was part of the Bruce campaign in Ireland. The Norman Richard de Clare attacked the Gaelic Irish chieftain Conchobhar ÓDeághaidh, chief of the ...
of 1318 took place near the monastic site.
Gallery
File:DysertODeaMonastery.jpg, General view of site
File:Dysert O Dea Doorway.jpg, Doorway of St. Tola's Church
File:DysertRoundTower.jpg, Dysert O'Dea round tower
File:St.Tolas_High_Cross.jpg, St. Tola's Cross
File:Dysert cross.jpg, Details of St. Tola's Cross
File:Dysert_Victorian_Ruins.jpg, Victorian ruins of Synge's Lodge
References
Sources
* Ua Cróinín, Risteárd (Richard Cronin_. ''O'Dea: Ua Deághaidh: The Story of a Rebel Clan''. Ballinakella Press, Whitegate, Co. Clare, Ireland, 1992. .
* O'Farrell, Fergus. "Dysert O'Dea: The Monks of Dysert O'Dea". ''Archaeology Ireland'', volume 18, nr. 3, Autumn, 2004. pp. 26-27.
* Westropp, T.J.. "The Cross of Dysert O'Dea". ''The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland'', volume 10, nr. 4, 1900. pp. 375-377.