Kilbennen

Last updated

Kilbennen
Cill Bheanáin
Kilbennan Church and Round Tower 2010 09 16.jpg
Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Ireland
Monastery information
Other namesKilbannon; Kilbennan; Cell-beneoin; Dun Lughaid
Order Franciscans (15th century)
Establishedlate 5th century AD
Disestablished15th/16th century
Diocese Tuam
People
Founder(s) Benignus of Armagh
Architecture
Statusruined
Style Celtic
Site
LocationPollacorragune, Tuam, County Galway
Coordinates 53°32′20″N8°53′32″W / 53.538801°N 8.892219°W / 53.538801; -8.892219 Coordinates: 53°32′20″N8°53′32″W / 53.538801°N 8.892219°W / 53.538801; -8.892219
Visible remainsChurch and round tower
Public accessyes
Official nameKilbennen
Reference no.48

Kilbennen or Kilbannon is a medieval ecclesiastical site and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland. [1] [2]

Contents

Location

Kilbennen is located 3.7 km (2.3 mi) northwest of Tuam, on the far side of the River Clare. [3]

History

The monastery here was founded by Benignus of Armagh (Benin, Benen, Bennan), a disciple of Saint Patrick, [4] in the 5th century AD, although the Book of Armagh associates it with a different Benignus, of the Luighne Connacht. [5] Iarlaithe mac Loga (Saint Jarlath) studied here in the 6th century. [6]

The Annals of the Four Masters record the burning of Kilbennen in 1114. [7] In 1148 they record the death of Ceallach Ua Domhnagain, "noble head of Cill-Beneoin." [8]

The Franciscans built a church c. 1428. [9]

Some conservation work was done in 1880–81.[ citation needed ]

Ruins and monuments

Round tower with doorway visible. Kilbennan Round Tower E 2010 09 16.jpg
Round tower with doorway visible.
East gable window, now blocked up. Kilbennan Church East Gable Interior 2010 09 16.jpg
East gable window, now blocked up.

The limestone round tower is badly damaged and stands 16.5 m (54 ft) tall at its highest point and 4.8 m (16 ft) in diameter. It has a sandstone doorway 4.56 m (15.0 ft) off the ground. [10]

Both gables are standing on the church. The east gable had a twin-light cusped ogee-headed window. [11]

A holy well is located to the northwest, where Bennin is said to have healed nine lepers. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballinamore</span> Town in County Leitrim, Ireland

Ballinamore is a small town in County Leitrim, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synod of Ráth Breasail</span>

The Synod of Ráth Breasail was an Irish Catholic church council which took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based church. Many Irish present-day dioceses trace their boundaries to decisions made at the synod.

Aedh mac Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair was King of Connacht from 1228 to 1233. He was one of the sons of the last fully recognized High King of Ireland Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, and claimed the kingship of Connacht after deposing his brother Toirdhealbhach Ó Conchobhair, after the death of their rival, cousin and former king Aedh Ua Conchobair. In 1233 he was killed in battle by the supporters of his cousin and successor Felim O'Connor. He was the last descendant of Ruaidrí to hold the kingship.

Felim McHugh O'Connor was king of Connacht in Ireland from January 1310 to 10 August 1316. The beginning of his kingship saw a revival in the ancient form of inauguration performed for the Kings of Connacht after a period of apparent lapse in the practice. His reign took place against the background of a Gaelic recovery following the Anglo-Norman invasion and the disputed High Kingship of Edwurd Bruce. He was the last King of Connacht to truly hold power over the entire province and his death halted the gains that had been made following the Anglo Norman invasion, by his kingdom. His foster father Maelruanid Mac Diarmata King of Magh Lurg would play an instrumental role in his reign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felim O'Connor (d. 1265)</span> King of Connacht

Felim O'Connor was king of Connacht in Ireland, having been proclaimed king by Richard Mór de Burgh in 1230, he reigned proper from 1233 until 1265. Felim died in that year and was buried in the Dominican Priory in Roscommon which he founded in 1253. On his accession Felim inherited many problems from his predecessors, having his territory limited to essentially County Roscommon and having to deal with an increase of English and Welsh settlers in the kingdom. Felim attempted to maintain both a loyal and personal relationship with Henry III King of England, hoping he would limit the influence of de Burgh and other powerful Anglo-Norman magnates in Connacht, but this policy of appeasement produced few concrete results. During Felim's reign the lands of the Ua Conchobair became limited to the five 'royal cantreds', essentially Co. Roscommon. Felim notably adopted aspects of Anglo-Norman culture as seen in his English style effigy and seal.

Áed mac Felidlimid Ó Conchobair, known as Áed na nGall, was king of Connacht alongside his father Felim from 1258 reigning solely from 1265 until his own death in 1274. He is credited with turning the tide on Norman expansion in Connacht at the Battle of Áth an Chip. Aed took a different approach than his father to dealing with English crown authority in Ireland, placing his faith in alliances with the Gaelic speaking world and becoming the chief supporter of Brian Ua Neill's bid to revive the high kingship of Ireland. His byname na nGall comes from his marriage in 1259 to a daughter of Dubhghall mac Ruaidri King of the Hebrides which brought him 160 gallowglass commanded by Dubhghall's younger brother Ailéan as a dowry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ó Rothláin</span>

Ó Rothláin is an Irish surname. The name is a Patronym meaning "descendant of Rothlán." It is suggested that it is a possible variant of Ó Raghalláin, or Ó Roghallaigh. It is the pre-anglicised, Irish form of the names Rowlan, Rowland, Rowlands, Rollan, Rollin, Rolan and Rowley. The name can also be found spelled as Ó Rothlán, Ó Rothlain, O'Rothlain, Rothlán, and Rothlan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Jarlath</span> Irish saint

Saint Jarlath, also known as Iarlaithe mac Loga, was an Irish priest and scholar from Connacht, remembered as the founder of the monastic School of Tuam and of the Archdiocese of Tuam, of which he is the patron saint. No medieval Life for Jarlath is extant, but sources for his life and cult include genealogies, martyrologies, the Irish Lives of St Brendan of Clonfert, and a biography compiled by John Colgan in the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synod of Kells</span>

The Synod of Kells took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys of Kells and Mellifont, and in later times the synod has been called the Synod of Kells-Mellifont and the Synod of Mellifont-Kells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uí Díarmata</span>

Uí Díarmata was a local kingdom located in what is now north County Galway.

Muireadhach Ua Dubhthaigh was an Archbishop of Connacht, in Ireland.

Domhnall Ua Dubhthaigh, Archbishop of Connacht, died 1136.

Tadg Óg Ó hUiginn was an Irish poet.

Gilla Críst Ua Mocháin was an Irish craftsman, fl. 1120s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feartagar Castle</span> Tower house in County Galway, Ireland

Feartagar Castle, also called Jennings Castle, is a tower house and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drumacoo</span> Ruined ecclesiastical site in Galway, Ireland

Drumacoo is a medieval ecclesiastical site and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.

The Conmhaícne Dúna Móir, or Cenéoil Dubáin were an early people of Ireland. Their tuath comprised at least the barony of Dunmore, in County Galway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dísert Óengusa</span>

Dísert Óengusa is a medieval hermitage and National Monument located in County Limerick, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Declan's Monastery</span> 5th century monastery in Waterford, Ireland

St. Declan's Monastery, containing the remains of Ardmore Cathedral, is a former monastery and National Monument located in County Waterford, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killashee Round Tower</span>

Killashee Round Tower is an Irish round tower that forms part of the monastic remnants of Killashee, County Kildare, Ireland. On the Record of Monuments and Places its number is KD024-003.

References

  1. "Kilbannon Church Ruins, Tuam".
  2. MacNeill, Máire (1 January 2008). The festival of Lughnasa: a study of the survival of the Celtic festival of the beginning of harvest. Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann. ISBN   9780906426104 via Google Books.
  3. Association, Irish Tourist (8 April 2018). "Official Guide to Connacht". Irish Tourist Assoc via Google Books.
  4. Ireland, Royal Society of Antiquaries of (8 April 2018). "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society via Google Books.
  5. "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society. 8 April 2018 via Google Books.
  6. "Kilbannon". dúchas.ie.
  7. "Part 22 of Annals of the Four Masters". celt.ucc.ie.
  8. "Part 25 of Annals of the Four Masters". celt.ucc.ie.
  9. Great Britain and Ireland, a Phaidon Cultural Guide. Prentice-Hall. 8 April 1985. ISBN   9780133637557 via Google Books.
  10. Schorr, Frank. "Kilbennen Irish Round Tower". www.roundtowers.org.
  11. "Kilbennan Round Tower and Church".
  12. Bourke, Ulick Joseph (8 April 1876). The Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language: The Round Towers, the Brehon Law, Truth of the Pentateuch. Longmans, Green. p.  408 via Internet Archive. Kilbennen benignus.