Tipperary Ireland

Previous to the dissolution of the monasteries there were close on one hundred religious foundations in the province of Munster. Many of these were communities of importance; their ruins add much to the picturesqueness and interest of the province. In spite of the Reformation Ireland remained substantially a Roman Catholic country, and in many cases small bodies of monks faced the danger of persecution and returned in the seventeenth century to Ireland, leading a furtive existence amid the ruins of their former homes. One of the most interesting of the monastic remains in Munster are the ruins of Holy Cross Abbey, Co. Tipperary. This abbey was founded in 1169 a.d. by Domhnall O Briain king of Limerick, for monks of the Cistercian order; its possessions were confirmed to it by King John. A portion of the true Cross which had been presented to Donnchadh O Briain by Pope Pascal II in 1110 was preserved in a jewelled shrine of gold in the abbey, to which it gave its name : the monastery owed much of its wealth to offerings made by pilgrims at this shrine. The remains of the abbey arc extensive ; the cruciform church consists of an aisled nave, choir, the junction of the nave and choir. The eastern portion of the church has two storeys, the upper having probably served as a dwelling. The church was much altered and rebuilt in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries ; few traces of the original Romanesque building can now be seen. The fine cast window is reticulated, while those of the transept-chapels are filled with flowing tracery of Flamboyant type. The eastern portion of the church has many ornamental details, there being two especially remarkable pieces of carving, one in the chancel and the other in the south transept. That in the chancel is known as the Tomb of the Good Womans Son, but was evidently the sedilia. It lies three arches with foliage cusps and tracery surmounted by a canopy; above the arches are shields carved with the royal arms of England, of Butler, and of Desmond. It is probably of early fifteenth century date. Between the south transept chapels is the remarkable structure which has been sometimes considered to have been the sanctuary in which the relic of the Holy Cross was preserved ; it is, however, more probable that it was a waking chamber, a receptacle for a coffin. The roof of this monument is elaborately groined: the supporting pillars have twisted shafts, with bases, but no capitals ; the panelling below the shafts is carved with foliage similar to that on the sedilia: it is apparently of the same date. There are not many remains of the conventual buildings ; the cloister, which lay to the south, is now covered with grass ; the cellarium still exists at the west end : above this was the dorter of the lay brothers. The buildings on the south side of the cloister have disappeared.

Posted on April 17th, 2008 under Architecture. Tags: abbey, archbishop, Augustinian Priory, Cahir, Cahir Castle, carvings, Cashel, cathedral, choir, chpaels, church, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, coffin, Cormac MacCarthaigh, CromwellKiltinane, Desmond, Donaghmore, Earl of Essex, Earl of Glengall, England, Fcthard, Holy Cross Abbey, Ireland, Irish Church, Limerick, Lord Inchiquin, Lords Dunboyne, monastery, Munster, National Monument, Ormonde, Privy Council, River Glashauney, Roman Catholic, Romanesque, Rome, Spain, St. Edmund, St. Farannan, Tickencor House, tower, Tudor, Vicars Choral. Comments: 1