Monasternagalliaghduff () also called the Abbey of St Catherine de O'Conyl or simply Old Abbey, is a ruined Augustinian

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

in Ireland.

Location

The abbey lies in a small valley about two miles east of the village of Shanagolden, in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Oldabbey (named after it), which is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Robertstown and

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Shanid Shanid () is a historical barony in northwest County Limerick, Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by ...

(formerly part of the barony of Connello or O'Conyl).

History

One of the earliest recorded

nunneries A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Comm ...

in Ireland, it is first mentioned in 1298, and was founded on land donated by John FitzThomas of Connello (who died in 1261).Wardell 1904 While there are few details, it appears in court and land records over the succeeding centuries, and at Dissolution of the Monasteries during the

Reformation in Ireland The Reformation in Ireland was a movement for the reform of religious life and institutions that was introduced into Ireland by the English Crown at the behest of King Henry VIII of England. His desire for an annulment of his marriage was known ...

, in 1541, a valuation is given.Wardell 1904 Further records of leases, conveyances and other land transactions are found for its ruins and lands.Wardell 1904

Architecture

Remains include the abbey church to the east of the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

, with two small spaces adjacent - one of which is now known as the ''Black Hag's Cell'' but which appears to have been a sacristy - a

refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...

to the south, and a vaulted building to the west. From the refectory a later building projects south towards a stream; it may have been a kitchen. There are also walls and a gate, and traces of an orchard, a fish pond and a pigeon house. The church and cloister walls were assessed as being of similar age, and their windows dated to the 13th century.Wardell 1904 Modifications to the church in the 15th century saw the inclusion of an east window in the church as well as a doorway in the north. Traces of window decoration, columns, a piscina and a carved tombstone remain.Wardell 1904 Burials were also located, and the church plate was reportedly found in the late eighteenth century.Wardell 1904

Folklore

Some legends relating to the abbey include: * Prior to the dissolution it was said that the nunnery had been dissolved by the Pope as the last abbess practised

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

in a room to the south of the church which is now called 'The Black Hag's Cell'. This legend was probably propaganda in furtherance of the dissolution. Wardell suggests the legend might have arisen if a nun remained after the dissolution, and that later people may have misunderstood ''cailleach dhubh'' (archaic for "nun") as "black hag". * During a feud between the

Earl of Desmond Earl of Desmond ( meaning Earl of South Munster) is a title of nobility created by the English monarch in the peerage of Ireland. The title has been created four times. It was first awarded in 1329 to Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond, Maur ...

and the

Butlers A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...

, the Desmonds were fleeing the nunnery when the Countess was wounded by an arrow. The Earl, believing her dead, hastily interred her under the church altar; but she had been

buried alive Premature burial, also known as live burial, burial alive, or vivisepulture, means to be buried while still alive. Animals or humans may be buried alive accidentally on the mistaken assumption that they are dead, or intentionally as a form of ...

, and her screams are said to echo through the ruins to this day.

References

Citations Sources * {{cite journal , title=The History and Antiquities of St. Catherine's, Old Abbey, County Limerick , first=John , last=Wardell , first2=T. J. , last2=Westropp , author-link2=Thomas Johnson Westropp , journal=The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland , volume=34 th ser. vol.14, number=1 , date=31 March 1904 , pages=41–64 , jstor=25507346 Christian monasteries established in the 13th century 13th-century establishments in Ireland Augustinian nunneries Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in County Limerick Religion in County Limerick 1541 disestablishments in Ireland Ruins in the Republic of Ireland History of County Limerick

Location

History

Architecture

Folklore

See also

References