HOLYCROSS / MONASTERANEAGH

Monasteranenagh was founded in 1148 by Turlough O’Brien, King of Thomond. Donal Mor O’Brien became patron of the abbey after Turlogh’s death. It was a daughter house of Mellifont and subsequently established three daughter houses of its own: Abbeydorney (1154); Midleton (1180); Holycross (1181). Its name derived from ‘Manister an Aonaigh’, the monastery of the fair, after a fair that was held at the site in ancient times. Its Latin name represents the latinisation of the local river: ‘Magium’, from the river Mague. It seems the monks were aware of the problem of flooding and they built their monastery a little way from the river, on a section of slightly raised ground. The abbey was heavily involved in the ‘conspiracy of Mellifont’ and in 1227 affiliation of the abbey was transferred to Margam in Wales. In the following yeare the Irish monks forced the abbot and the non-Irish monks, who were mainly of Norman descent, to leave the abbey. The remaining monks attempted to prevent Stephen of Lexington from visiting the abbey by fortifying the precinct; they prepared the abbey for siege, turning it into a castle and building a tower above the altar. The ring leader was the King of Thomond, who resented the presence of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland.

Monasteranenagh is thought to have been one of the richer Cistercian monasteries although no reliable financial figures survive. The abbey was suppressed in 1539-40, and the property was granted to Sir Osborne Echingham in 1543. However, the monks were left in possession of the abbey which they retained until 1580. Some of the monks who were expelled from affiliated abbeys in 1540-2 are said to have joined the community at Monasteranenagh. Monasteranenagh was the scene of a major battle during the Geraldine rebellion of 1579-1580. Today, the ruins include the church (which dates from 1170 to 1220) and an early Gothic chapter house. The ruins are situated on a flat plain, ten miles south of Limerick.

It is generally accepted that Holycross was colonised from Monasteranenagh in 1180, although the foundation charter from Donal Mor O’Brien is dated 1185/6 who also founded KILCOOLY abbey in 1182. HOLYCROSS was situated on the right bank of the River Suir, and it has been argued that there was a Benedictine abbey at the site before the arrival of the Cistercians. However, the evidence for this is inconclusive. It seems that the abbey struggled for existence and in 1227 provision was made for its union with Abington shouild the General Chapter decide that the community could not sustain itself. Stephen of Lexington visited Holycross the following yeare and declared that the abbey could maintain itself quite well. He sent a monk from Dunbrody to help with the administration of the abbey. The original foundation of ABINGTON was at Wyrsedale in Lancashire, endowed c. 1196 by Theobold Walter, Butler of Ireland and brother of Hubert Walter, archbishop of Canterbury. At some point before 1204 the community was moved to a new site on the east coast of the island of Arklow. However, this site was rather exposed and the monks were transferred to a more suitable location at Abington in 1205. The abbey at Abington was situated on the banks of the River Mulkear, a tributary of the Shannon. According to the charter, the abbey was founded from Savigny, the mother house of Furness.

KILCOOLY abbey was founded in 1182 by Donal Mor O’Brien, king of Thormond, and may have originally been intended for monks from Daire-Mor. The abbey was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Benedict. The location of the abbey was unusual. Whereas most Cistercian houses were situated close to streams or rivers, Kilcooly was founded in the middle of a flat plain. Its Latin name Arvus Campus ('the arable plain'), reflects the location of the abbey. The church contains carvings of the twelve apostles, a dolphin and a mermaid. The cloister buildings have been so much altered since 1540 that it is difficult to discern the medieval fabric. The protestant church to the north-east was built on the site of a chapel, thought to have been the old gatehouse chapel. In 1228 Stephen of Lexington was attacked by robbers in a forest near Kilcooly while visiting the Cistercian houses in Ireland. Stephen later deposed the abbot of Kilcooly for neglecting his duties and the prior was ordered to act under the new English abbot of Jerpoint. In 1418, the monastery was damaged by fire and in 1445 the abbey was almost completely destroyed by armed men. JERPOINT was founded between 1163 and 1165 by Donal MacGillapatrick I, King of Ossory. After Stephen of Lexington visited Jerpoint in 1228 he drew up a long list of rules and regulations to be carefully followed by the Cistercian monks of Ireland. The abbot of Jerpoint was held responsible and soon after deposed. In 1227 Jerpoint was made subject to Fountains and in 1228 Stephen of Lexington deprived Abbot Brendan of his title and ordered him to go to Fountains for two years. At the time of Stephen’s visitations the number of religious at Jerpoint was fixed at thirty-six monks and fifty lay-brothers. The abbots of Jerpoint sat as peers in parliament. By end of the thirteenth century Jerpoint was heavily in debt to Italian merchants as a result of the practice of forward buying (receiving payment in advance of production, in this instance of wool).