Monastery information | |
---|---|
Order | Augustinian canons |
Established | 7th century (original structure), 12th century |
Disestablished | 1542 |
Diocese | Archdiocese of Tuam |
People | |
Founder(s) | Saint Feichin |
Architecture | |
Heritage designation | National Monument |
Style | early Gothic |
Site | |
Location | Cong, County Mayo, Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°32′25″N9°17′12″W / 53.54028°N 9.28667°W |
Visible remains | church building, cloisters, monks' fishing house |
Public access | Yes |
Cong Abbey also known as the Royal Abbey of Cong, is a historic site located at Cong, County Mayo, in Ireland's province of Connacht. The ruins of the former Augustinian abbey mostly date to the 13th century and have been described as featuring some of finest examples of medieval ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland.
In the early 7th century, a church was built at this site, reportedly by Saint Feichin. A later building was destroyed by fire in 1114. Within the next twenty years or so, Turlough Mor O’Connor, the High King of Ireland, refounded the abbey. [1] Raiders from Munster destroyed the buildings in 1137 but they were rebuilt by King Turlough. [2] The Abbey was refounded as an Augustinian settlement in 1138. It was one of the earliest Augustinian settlements south of Armagh, which was founded in 1126. [3]
In 1198, his son, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Rory O'Connor), Ireland's last High King, constructed new buildings and also lived the last 15 years of his life at the abbey. [4] He died here and was reportedly briefly buried in the abbey before being exhumed and re-interred at Clonmacnoise. [1]
Cong Abbey was also closely associated with the O'Duffy family from at least 1097 to 1501. [2] The Annals of the Four Masters record that in 1150, Muireadhach Ua Dubhthaigh, Archbishop of Connacht, died at Cong aged 75. [5] His name is inscribed upon the processional Cross of Cong. [6]
The Norman knight William de Burgh attacked Cong in 1203, and again the abbey was rebuilt.[ citation needed ]
In the 1307 the abbey was reconstructed and dedicated to St Mary. [3] Cong Abbey was suppressed sometime after 1542 and later fell into ruins. [2]
The last (nominal) abbot was Father Patrick Prendergast, parish priest of Cong from 1795 until his death in 1829. He was the preserver of the Cross of Cong. After his death, the cross was bought by James MacCullagh for the Royal Irish Academy. [2]
The first restoration of the abbey was started by Benjamin Guinness in 1855, soon after he had bought nearby Ashford Castle in 1852. [1]
The remains of Cong Abbey have been praised as featuring some of the finest examples of early gothic architecture and masonry in Ireland. [1] The present church, and possibly the fragmentary cloister where the monks worked and prayed, belong to the rebuilding of the early 13th century. [2] The north doorway of the church, and the elaborate doorways that open onto the cloister from the east range of the monastery, may pre-date the attack by William de Burgo. The doorway with two fine windows on either side belongs to the chapter house, where the monastery's daily business was conducted as well as a chapter of the rule being read each day. This was also where the community gathered to confess their sins publicly. The sculpture in the abbey, which is some of the finest in Ireland, suggests links to French styles of the period.[ citation needed ]
The grounds of the abbey also contain a monks' fishing house, probably built in the 15th or 16th century,[ citation needed ] on an island in the River Cong leading towards nearby Lough Corrib. The house is built on a platform of stones over a small arch which allows the river to flow underneath the floor. There is a trapdoor in the floor in which the fish may have been kept fresh. According to local tradition, a line was connected from the fishing house to the monastery kitchen to alert the cook to fresh fish. [2]
Cong Abbey is a national monument in the care of the Commissioners for Public Works.
Connacht or Connaught, is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms.
Lough Corrib is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland. It covers 176 km² and lies mostly in County Galway with a small area of its northeast corner in County Mayo.
Clonmacnoise is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone, founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan, County Roscommon. Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht.
William de Burgh was the founder of the House of Burgh in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. William is often given the epithet, "the conqueror", but is not to be confused with the English king of the same nickname.
West Connacht was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represented the core homeland of the Connachta's Uí Briúin Seóla kindred and although they ruled, there were smaller groups of other Gaels in the area, such as the Delbhna Tir Dha Locha and the Conmhaícne Mara. It existed from 1051 onwards, after the Ó Conchobhair, Kings of Connacht, pushed the Ó Flaithbheartaigh to the West of Lough Corrib, from their original territory of Maigh Seóla. Iar Connacht remained a subordinate túath of Connacht, until the 13th century, after which it was more independent.
O'Flaherty is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Galway. The clan name originated in the 10th century as a derivative of its founder Flaithbheartach mac Eimhin. They descend in the paternal line from the Connachta's Uí Briúin Seóla. They were originally kings of Maigh Seóla and Muintir Murchada and as members of the Uí Briúin were kinsmen of the Ó Conchubhair and Mac Diarmada amongst others. After their king Cathal mac Tigernán lost out to Áed in Gai Bernaig in the 11th century, the family were pushed further west to Iar Connacht, a territory associated with Connemara today. They continued to rule this land until the 16th century. The name has been alternatively rendered into English in various forms, such as Flaherty, Fluharty, Faherty, Laverty, Flaverty, Lahiff, and Flahive.
Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair (1153–1224), was a king of Connacht. He was the youngest son of the High King of Ireland Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair and brother to the last fully recognized High King Ruadri Ua Conchobair. His own sons Aedh Ua Conchobair and Feidhlimidh Ua Conchobair were kings of Connacht after him.
Toirdhealbhach Mór Ua Conchobhair anglicised Turlough Mór O'Conor, was King of Connacht (1106–1156) and High King of Ireland.
Cong is a village straddling the borders of County Galway and County Mayo, in Ireland.
The O'Conordynasty are an Irish noble dynasty and formerly one of the most influential and distinguished royal dynasties in Ireland. The O'Conor family held the throne of the Kingdom of Connacht up until 1475. Having ruled it on and off since 967, they ruled continuously from 1102 to 1475. Moreover, the O'Conor parent house the Uí Briúin and Síol Muireadaigh ruled Connacht on many occasions – but not continuously – between 482 and 956. The house of O'Conor also produced two High Kings of Ireland, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair and his son Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the last High King of Ireland. The family seat is Clonalis House outside Castlerea in County Roscommon.
The Ross Errilly Friary is a medieval Franciscan friary located about a mile to the northwest of Headford, County Galway, Ireland. It is a National Monument of Ireland and among the best-preserved medieval monastic sites in the country. Though usually referred to by locals as "Ross Abbey," this is not technically correct as the community never had an abbot.
Boyle Abbey is a ruined Cistercian friary located in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. It was founded by Saint Malachy in the 12th century.
The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life is located in Turlough village, 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. Established in 2001, the museum is part of the National Museum of Ireland and is the only national museum outside Dublin. The museum exhibits the way of life of rural Irish people between 1850 and 1950, and is in the grounds of Turlough Park House. There are displays about the home, the natural environment, trades and crafts, communities, and working on the land and on water.
The Cross of Cong is an early 12th-century Irish Christian ornamented cusped processional cross, which was, as an inscription says, made for Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht and High King of Ireland to donate to the Cathedral church of the period that was located at Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. The cross was subsequently moved to Cong Abbey at Cong, County Mayo, from which it takes its name.
Annaghdown is a civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. It takes its name from Eanach Dhúin, Irish for "the marsh of the fort". It lies around Annaghdown Bay, an inlet of Lough Corrib. Villages in the civil parish include Corrandulla and Currandrum. Annaghdown is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tuam and the Church of Ireland Diocese of Tuam, Killala and Achonry.
The Partraige were a people of early historic Ireland.
Errew Abbey is a former Augustinian monastery and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.
Inishmaine Abbey is a former Augustinian monastery and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.
Inchagoill is an island in Lough Corrib, Ireland. Its Christian ruins constitute an Irish National Monument. The island name means "Island of the devout foreigner."