Category Archives: Ruins

Designed rather for Military than Ecclesiastical Purposes


‘The churchyard of Mainham is situated close to a remarkable moat near the entrance gate to Clongowes Wood College, the former residence of a family named BROWNE who in their day called the place Castle Browne which reverted to its present ancient name when this well-known Roman Catholic College was founded there. Extensive remains of the old church and buildings in connection with it still exist. By the side of the little trefoiled-headed window of the chancel is a small circular mural table with the following inscription:-
+
IHS
Here lieth ye body of Margrate DILON who deceased February ye 7th 1816 aged 68 years. & also ye body of Danniall BYRN who deceased May ye 30 17_8 aged 77 years.
Erected by Barnaby BYRN
A small coat-of-arms, of the O’BYRNE family is cut in relief below the inscription.’
Lord Walter FitzGerald, Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the Memorials of the Dead, 1904




The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, otherwise known as the Knights Hospitaller, was a mediaeval military order founded in the early 12th century. Originally established to care for pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem during the Crusades, the order developed into an international body of mounted knights. Members took an oath to provide hospitality for the sick, injured and poor, while also training for warfare in defence of Christianity. The Knights Hospitaller arrived in Ireland around the same time as the Cambro-Normans and here, as elsewhere, the order was organised around a central Priory and Preceptories. In 1174, Richard de Clare, otherwise known as Strongbow, established the Priory of Ireland and Hospital of St John at Kilmainham on the outskirts of Dublin: it stood to the west of the site where the Royal Hospital Kilmainham now stands (some of the stones of the old priory were supposedly incorporated into the hospital’s chapel). Eventually the order had 129 preceptories across the country, including one already seen here at Kilteel, County Kildare (see Inside the Pale « The Irish Aesthete). Elsewhere in the county, another was found at Mainham. 




According to the Rev. M Comerford in Collections relating to the Dioceses of Kildare And Leighlin (1883), ‘the old parochial church of Mainham, or Menham, still exists in ruins. It was about 65 feet in length, by 18 in width. A tower with a stone staircase, stands on the south-eastern side and appears to have been designed rather for military than ecclesiastical purposes. The church-ruin stands in the midst of an extensive burial-ground.’ Little has changed since this was written, indeed the church was already recorded as being a ruin by the mid-17th century. Like so many other such places in Ireland, even after the building ceased to be used for religious services, it continued to be used as a burial site, with a number of attractive old funerary monuments found here, not least that mentioned above. 


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Not Long for this World



In County Kerry, Abbeydorney Abbey, otherwise known as Kyrie Eleison, was founded in 1154 as a daughter house to the existing Cistercian monastery at Monasteranenagh, County Limerick. Christian O’Conarchy, first abbot of Mellifont (the original Cistercian foundation in Ireland) retired to Abbeydorney in old age, dying and being buried here in 1186. In 1227 the Abbot of Abbeydorney was deposed for his involvement in the ‘Conspiracy of Mellifont’, an attempt by Irish Cistercian monasteries to resist reform imposed on them by their superiors outside the country.  More than 200 years later, in 1453 another abbot was accused of misrule by a monk of Monasteranenagh. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th century, Abbeydorney and its lands were granted to Edmond FitzMaurice, Baron Kerry and the buildings gradually fell into disuse. All that remains today are some cloistral ruins (rather lost amidst more recent gravestones) and a 15th century church, but the latter is in such poor condition that it has had to be surrounded by high fencing. Unless remedial works are undertaken here, the structure looks not long for this world.



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The Remaining Third




As its name indicates, Threecastles in County Wicklow was once the site of three fortified buildings, only one of which still survives, at least in part. While the history of this tower house is unclear, it is believed to have been constructed in the early 16th century when this part of the country came under the control of Gerald FitzGerald, eighth Earl of Kildare who was Lord Deputy of Ireland in the years until his death in 1513. Faced in local granite, the battlemented upper section of the three-storey building is missing, as is a substantial portion which once extended to the west.




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Sweet Innisfallen


‘Innisfallen, it is paying no great compliment to say it is the most beautiful in the king’s dominions, and perhaps in Europe. It contains twenty acres of land, and has every variety that the range of beauty, unmixed with the sublime, can give. The general feature is that of wood; the surface undulates into swelling hills, and sinks into little vales; the slopes are in every direction, the declivities die gently away, forming those slight inequalities which are the greatest beauty of dressed grounds. The little valleys let in views of the surrounding lake between the hills, while the swells break the regular outline of the water, and give to the whole an agreeable confusion. The wood has all the variety into which nature has thrown the surface; in some parts it is so thick as to appear impenetrable, and secludes all farther view; in others, it breaks into tufts of tall timber, under which cattle feed. Here they open, as if to offer to the spectator the view of the naked lawn; in others close, as if purposely to forbid a more prying examination. Trees of large size and commanding figure form in some places natural arches; the ivy mixing with the branches, and hanging across in festoons of foliage, while on one side the lake glitters among the trees, and on the other a thick gloom dwells in the recesses of the wood. The figure of the island renders one part a beautiful object to another; for the coast being broken and indented, forms bays surrounded either with rock or wood: slight promontories shoot into the lake, whose rocky edges are crowned with wood. These are the great features of Innisfallen; the slighter touches are full of beauties easily imagined by the reader. Every circumstance of the wood, the water, the rocks, and lawn, are characteristic, and have a beauty in the assemblage from mere disposition. I must, however, observe that this delicious retreat is not kept as one could wish…as to what might be made of the island, if its noble proprietor (Lord Kenmare) had an inclination, it admits of being converted into a terrestrial paradise; lawning with the intermixture of other shrubs and wood, and a little dress, would make it an example of what ornamented grounds might be, but which not one in a thousand is. Take the island, however, as it is, with its few imperfections, and where are we to find such another? What a delicious retreat! an emperor could not bestow such a one as Innisfallen; with a cottage, a few cows, and a swarm of poultry, is it possible that happiness should refuse to be a guest here?
From A Tour in Ireland, with general observations on the present state of that kingdom in 1776–78, by Arthur Young (London, 1780) 





‘Innisfallen Island, about half-way between the east and the west shores of the lake [Lough Leane], is interesting on account of the historical associations connected with it, the charm thrown around it by the poetry of Moore, and more especially for its own exceeding beauty. Of all islands it is perhaps the most delightful.
The island appears from the lake or the adjoining shore to be densely covered with magnificent timber and gigantic evergreens, but upon landing, the interior of the island will be found to afford a variety of scenery well worthy of a visit — beautiful glades and lawns, embellished by thickets of flowering shrubs and evergreens, amongst which the arbutus and hollies are conspicuous for their size and beauty. Many of the timber trees are oaks, out the greater number are magnificent old ash trees of remarkable magnitude and luxuriance of growth.
The Abbey, whose ruins are near the landing-place, is believed to have been founded about 650 by St. Finian, to whom the cathedral of Aghadoe was dedicated. In the east end are two lancet windows, which, with this gable, have been recently re- stored. A little away to the right is the small “Romanesque” church standing by itself. The round-headed West doorway, with remains of well-carved mouldings, is, architecturally, the best thing on the island, and may date back as far as the 11th century. ”Quiet, innocent, and tender is that lovely spot,” wrote the delighted Thackeray after his visit in 1842.’
From Black’s Guide to Killarney and the South of Ireland by Adam and James Black (Edinburgh, 1876)





‘Moore has sung the praises of this island in the following lines :
“Sweet Innisfallen, fare thee well,
May calm and sunshine long be thine!
How fair thou art let others tell
To feel how fair shall long be mine.
Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell
In memory’s dream that sunny smile,
Which o’er thee on that evening fell,
When first I saw thy fairy isle.”
Innisfallen Abbey is supposed to have been founded by St. Finan about the year 600. The ruins lie scattered about the island. The celebrated ” Annals of Innisfallen ” were composed here by two monks. This work, which is among the earliest records of Irish history, was written on parchment. The original manuscript, containing fifty-seven quarto leaves, is now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford; but it was preserved for several centuries in the Abbey of Innisfallen. It contains a History of the World down to the arrival of St. Patrick in Ireland in the year 432, and from that period it is a History of Ireland down to 1320. There are several copies of the work in existence, one of which is in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. From many passages in these Annals we learn that the monks did not seem to have enjoyed their little isle altogether unmolested in the so-called “good old times.” In one place we read thus: — “Anno 11 80. This Abbey of Innisfallen being ever esteemed a paradise and a secure sanctuary, the treasure and the most valuable effects of the whole county were deposited in the hands of the clergy ; notwithstanding which, we find the abbey was plundered in this year by Mildwin, son of Daniel O’Donoghue. Many of the clergy were slain, and even in their cemetery by the McCarthys. But God soon punished this act of impiety and sacrilege, by bringing many of its authors to an untimely end”.’ From Souvenir of the lakes of Killarney and Glengariff published by T Nelson & Sons (London, 1892)


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Once Sumptuous


Buttevant: ‘It is called in the Ecclesiastical books Bothon; by the Irish and Spencer, Kilnemullagh; and was formerly an antient corporation, being once governed by a mayor and aldermen; but by the wars it has gone to decay; ‘tis said to have suffered greatly by the last plague in Ireland. There are still to be seen the remains of a wall that surrounded the town; in this place are the remains of the once sumptuous abbey of Buttevant, founded by David de Barry (who lies buried therein) in the reign of Edw. 1st. He was lord justice of Ireland, and his tomb remains in the choir, opposite the great altar. The walls of the choir, with the nave of the church and several other buildings remain entire; also the steeple, which is a high square erected on a large gothic arch. To the S. is St Mary’s Chapel, in which are several tombs of antient Irish families; on the N.W. side of the abbey stands a ruined tower, said to have been erected by an earl of Desmond, who retired here; ‘tis called Cullin. On each side of the W. entrance of the abbey, are large piles of skulls, which some say were brought thither after the Battle of Knocknanoise, which was fought but five miles from hence.’
From Topographia Hibernica: or the Topography of Ireland, Antient and Modern, by Wm. Wenman Seward (Dublin, 1795)





‘To the south is St Mary’s Chapel, in which are several tombs of ancient Irish families, viz the Barrys, Magners, Fitz-Geralds, Prendergasts, O’Callaghans, Donegans, Meads, Dowlings, and Healys. In this chapel are the remains of an altar, and two others in the nave of the church, on each side of the choir, in which are other tombs of the Barrys, Nagles, Lombards and Supples; also, one of a later date, of Mr. Richard Morgan, who died October 15, 1748, in the 107th year of his age. This man lived above 70 years at Castle-Pooky, near Doneraile; he had been clerk of the crown and peace for this county, in king James’s time, never eat salt with his meat, and died with no other complaint than the mere effect of old age. Beside the above-mentioned tombs, there are others of the Coghlans, Mac Auliffs and O’Kiefs. About 12 years ago, as they were making a grave, the body of a woman was discovered, who had been buried here 20 years before quite whole and entire; she died of the small-pox. The skin appeared hard, dry and very stiff, of a dark brown colour; she was interred in a dry vault between two lime walls, through which the wind and air had a free passage; which probably contributed to parch up the body, and keep it so long from corruption.’
From The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork by Charles Smith (Cork, 1815)





‘The ruins of the abbey are finely situated on the steep bank of the river Awbeg, and consist chiefly of the walls of the nave, chancel and some portions of the domestic buildings; the upper part of the central tower, supported on arches of light and graceful elevation, fell down in 1814; the tomb of the founder, David de Barry, is supposed to be in the centre of the chancel, but is marked only by some broken stones which appear to have formed an enclosure. On the south side of the nave are the remains of a finely proportioned chapel in which, and also in the nave and chancel, are numerous tombs and inscriptions to the memory of the Barrys, Fitzgeralds, Lombards and others.’
From A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis (London, 1837) 


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A Place of Pilgrimage



June 23rd 1752: ‘This country being entirely unknown I have been the more particular in relation to it, for my own satisfaction. From the Ferry I went westward along the Strand, and passed under an old Church called Kilkenny, a chapel of Ease to Enniskeel, a mile farther I came to a village called Balyaristan: and having a letter to Mr. Stewart the Minister of Inniskeel I came in two miles to his house, the first half on the strand and the remainder within the sand banks ; opposite to it is a small Island called Keel or Inniskeel (Island Bed) in which are two churches, about one the Protestants bury, and at the other the Papists; At low water they ride over to it.’
From Richard Pococke’s Tour of Ireland in 1752, edited by George T. Stokes (Dublin, 1891)




No longer to be seen on Inishkeel or indeed in this part of the world: St Conall’s Bell and Shrine. Made of iron, the original plain hand bell, used to summon the local people to services, likely dates from the 7th or 8th century. It is indicative of the growing fame of St Conall that several hundred years later, this simple device was decorated with a bronze mount and then, in the 15th century, an elaborate shrine of bronze and silver parcel-gilt, with silver plates, rock crystal studs and a chain, was made to house the implement. Both the bell and its shrine were kept for many centuries by the local O’Breslin family, supposedly descendants of the saint’s family, and would be exhibited annually during celebrations of his feast day (May 22nd) when pilgrims gathered on Inishkeel. Writing for the Ordnance Survey in 1835, described how ‘This chain O’Breslin threw around his neck, and from it the bell hung down his breast, exhibiting to the enthusiastic pilgrims the glittering gems and the symbol of the bloody sacrifice.’ At some date around this time, the bell and shrine were purchased by Major James Nesbitt, a local magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of Donegal, who lived a little further south in a house called Woodhill. The items then passed through a couple of hands before being bought by the English antiquarian and collector Augustus Wollaston Franks who in 1889 presented them to the British Museum where he served as Keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities. Bell and shrine remain in the museum’s collection to the present day, although they were loaned for exhibition in the Donegal County Museum ten years ago.
Inishkeel is a little island off the coast of south-west County Donegal, only accessible on foot when the tide is sufficiently low. Here, in the late 6th century, Saint Conall Cael, about whom almost nothing is known, founded a monastic settlement which, like so many others, in due course became a renowned place of pilgrimage. Remains of two small churches, one dedicated to St Conall, the other to the Virgin, both dating from the 13th century and later, can be seen here. They have each undergone some restoration work (the east end of the St Conall’s church has evidently been reconstructed, since numbers can be seen on many of its stones). There are also several cross slabs still standing, including two on which carved decorations of interlaced design may still be seen: one of them is believed to have been the shaft of a high cross from the 11th/12th century. When the buildings here fell out of use is unclear, but the island continued to be populated into the 19th century: the 1841 census shows there were 16 people living on Inishkeel. Today, while one roofed house still stands, it is otherwise uninhabited. Looking at the scant remains, it is difficult to believe that this was once the centre of a thriving monastic community and a place to which pilgrims flocked. 




No longer to be found on Inishkeel or indeed in this part of the world: St Conall’s Bell and Shrine. Made of iron, the original plain hand bell, used to summon the local people to services, likely dates from the 7th or 8th century. It is indicative of the growing fame of St Conall that several hundred years later, this simple device was decorated with a bronze mount and then, in the 15th century, an elaborate shrine of bronze and silver parcel-gilt, with silver plates, rock crystal studs and a chain, was made to house the implement. Both the bell and its shrine were kept for many centuries by the local O’Breslin family, supposedly descendants of the saint’s family, and would be exhibited annually during celebrations of his feast day (May 22nd) when pilgrims gathered on Inishkeel. Writing for the Ordnance Survey in 1835, described how ‘This chain O’Breslin threw around his neck, and from it the bell hung down his breast, exhibiting to the enthusiastic pilgrims the glittering gems and the symbol of the bloody sacrifice.’ At some date around this time, the bell and shrine were purchased by Major James Nesbitt, a local magistrate and Deputy Lieutenant of Donegal, who lived a little further south in a house called Woodhill. The items then passed through a couple of hands before being bought by the English antiquarian and collector Augustus Wollaston Franks who in 1889 presented them to the British Museum where he served as Keeper of British and Medieval Antiquities. Bell and shrine remain in the museum’s collection to the present day, although they were loaned for exhibition in the Donegal County Museum ten years ago. 



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Larkin’ about




What survives of the little parish church of Ballylarkin, County Kilkenny, its name derived from the Irish Baile Uí Lorcáin meaning Town of Ó Lorcáins (they being the family who initially controlled this part of the country). The building is believed to date from the 13th century but inside on the south wall is a later piscina and a triple sedilia probably inserted in the 14th century. 




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Sacred Origin and Pious Association


‘From childhood it has been my fortune to see, many times, as fine a specimen of a round tower as time and the ravages of man allowed to remain in our midst. It was situated at a remote village, called Kilbannon, distant some three miles from the ancient archiepiscopal town of Tuam. Standing at the northern side of a little graveyard and upon a perfectly level plain, it is visible for miles round. Near it are the ruins of an old Dominican monastery or nunnery (for it is variously described in old annals)…The name of the place, “Kilbannon”, is indicative of its sacred origin and pious association ; and tradition ascribes to the ruins the fame of a Saint Bennan, who is supposed to have been a disciple of Jarlath, the first Bishop of Tuam, after whom that See was called in ecclesiastical history. St. Jarlath was believed to have been an intimate follower of the glorious Apostle himself, and we may note, that but a few short miles, as the crow flies, from the Church of Bennan was the illustrious school of Cluan-fois, otherwise Cloonfush, founded by St. Jarlath, and in his time and long after known as “the mother of many memorable missionaries”.’
From ‘The Round Tower of Kilbannon’ by Richard J. Kelly, The Irish Monthly, Vol.14, 1886




‘There is a pillar tower at Kilbennan, near Taam. Before the young Bishop Benignus, or Bennin, had come to the territory of Conmaicne, or Tuam, in the Barony of Dunmore, the place now called Kilbannon had been known by the name Dun-Lugaidh, i.e., Louis’s Fortress. When St. Benignus, in company with St Patrick, had come from Donach Patrick to Dun-Lugaidh, it is said that the saint dug a fountain, in the waters of which he baptized nine lepers, who became instantly healed of their leprosy. Niatha, the chieftain of that district, and all his followers and clients, and all the people of the entire country of Conmaicne — St. Jarlath’s cousins, himself and his father and relatives — were baptized in that fountain. That well, or fountain, is to be seen to this day at Kilbennan. Its waters gush forth from the foot of the Round Tower which to this hour is to be seen. Two things remain to this day to confirm the truth of the historical event — first, the “Dun” or pillar tower of Lughaidh ; second, the fountain gushing forth at its foot. At the time, say, A.D. 440, the Dun existed, it was the fortified home of the chieftain Xiatha.’
From The Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language by the Rev. Ulick J. Bourke (1875)




‘Kilbannon: Sometimes called Ballygaddy, which is the name of the townland and bridge adjoining the site, is situated two miles N. W. from Tuam Railway Station. The Round Tower still remains, to the height of about forty-five feet. It is broken away on one side, but the doorway is nearly perfect, being of the ordinary form, round-headed, and with inclining jambs. The Church adjoining is a rude early Christian building. No vestiges of genuine antiquity have come under my observation, save the Round Tower, which is associated with the name of St. Bunaun-one of three brothers; another, St. Bernaun, being the reputed founder of Knockmoy.’
From The Towers and Temples of Ancient Ireland by Marcus Keane (1867) 


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Coming to a Bad End



After Monday’s tale of Barryscourt Castle, here is another property that formerly belonged to the once-mighty Barry family: Buttevant Castle, County Cork. Thought to date back to the early 13th century, this would have been one of their first strongholds but in due course they moved their principal residence elsewhere and Buttevant fell into decline. As indeed did the Barrys. In the late 18th century the penultimate Earl of Barrymore, a close friend of the Prince of Wales, was a notorious rake, gambler and bare-knuckle boxer. His wild ways gained him the nickname of Hellgate while his younger brother Henry, who inherited the title after his sibling’s death at the age of 23, had a clubfoot and accordingly was called Cripplegate. Meanwhile, the third sibling Augustus, despite being an Anglican clergyman, became so addicted to gambling that he was known as Newgate, supposedly because this was the only debtors’ prison in which he had not spent time. And the trio’s only sister, Lady Caroline Barry, swore with such frequency and proficiency that she was called Billingsgate, after the foul-mouthed fishwives of that market. Between the four of them, they managed to dissipate their once-great estates in Ireland, including the extensive lands around Buttevant Castle, which was bought by Scottish entrepreneur John Anderson, whose son gave the building its present appearance around 1810. Occupied until the start of the last century, it was then abandoned and has since fallen into a ruinous state.



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Erected for their Posterity



Above the pointed arch doorway with cable moulding at the entrance to a now-roofless church in Naul, County Dublin is a plaque stating that the building had been ‘Erected by Hon. Edward Hussey and his wife Lady Mabel (nee Barnwall) for their posterity in the year of Our Lord God 1710.’ This memorial also features the Hussey coat of arms and motto ‘Cor Immobile’ (Immovable Hearts). The plaque suggests the building dates from the early 18th century but more likely it was reconstructed then as a chantry chapel for the Husseys (whose vault lies within the nave), because the Civil Survey of 1654-6 described it as being ruinous with only ‘the walles of ye parish church’ still standing. In addition, at the east end there remains a fine double ogee-headed window (a second, less ornamented opening can be found on the south wall). At the start of the 19th century, a Church of Ireland church was constructed to the immediate north of this little structure but was then demolished in 1949 due to insufficient numbers attending services there.



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