Killone_Abbey

Killone Abbey

Killone Abbey

Ruined abbey in County Clare, Ireland

Killone Abbey (Irish: Mainistir Chill Eoin[1]), situated in Killone, some 5 kilometres south of Ennis, County Clare, was a nunnery and abbey of Canonesses Regular founded in 1190 by Donal Mor O'Brien (Donal ‘the Great’ O’Brien), King of Thomond and Munster and dedicated to Saint John. It lies on the banks of Killone Lake.

Quick Facts Religion, Affiliation ...

The ruins of the abbey, accessible through land used for grazing cattle, are located in the grounds of Newhall House and Estate and include substantial remains of the abbey church together with a crypt. A narrow stone stairway leads between the altar and the east window to a ledge atop the remains of the south wall of the church, where an overview of the grounds may be seen with care.

The property is on private land part of Newhall Estate owned by the Commane family,[2] but as it is a national monument, ownership is vested in the Office of Public Works. A public right of way allows access to the site, as recorded by Tailte Éireann.[3][lower-alpha 1]

Folklore

Folklore has recorded so-called ‘corpse lights’ in the ruins of Killone, as well as at many other graveyards in Co. Clare. Killone Lake is also associated with the tale of a mermaid captured by one of the O’ Briens. He took her home, where she remained until it is said a fool tried to make her speak by throwing boiling water at her. Running back to the lake, she vowed:

“As the return of the salmon from the stream,

A return without blood or flesh,

May such be the departure of the O’Briens,

Like ears of wild corn from Killone.”

Soon after this curse, the O’ Briens vanished from Killone, never to possess it again.[4]

  • Killone Abbey 1890 Lawrence Collection National Library of Ireland
  • Killone Abbey 1890 Lawrence Collection
  • Killone Abbey
  • Killone Abbey Graveyard Ennis
  • Killone Abbey Graveyard Ennis

See also

Notes

  1. Tailte Éireann is the official body incorporating the former offices of the Valuation Office, Land Registry, and Ordnance Survey Ireland. It operates a website, landdirect.ie, which can be searched to show townlands. Searching For Newhall townland on the OSI base layer, with the option to show Land Registry overlays, highlights the public right of way.

References

  1. [1]
    "Cill Eoin/Killone". Logainm.ie. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  2. [2]
    "Newhall estate official web site mentions Killone Abbey". 23 February 2024.
  3. [3]
    "Land Direct". Land Direct: Map of Freehold ID 5237986. Property Registration Authority. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Monastic Ireland". Monastic.ie. 14 April 2024.

Sources

  • Glichrist, R., Gender and Material Culture: The Archaeology of Religious Women, (London, 1994)
  • Ó Dálaigh, B., ‘Mistress, Mother and Abbess: Renalda Ní Bhriain c.1447-1510’ in North Munster Antiquarian Journal, 32, (1990) pp 50-63.
  • O’Keeffe, T.  An Anglo-Norman Monastery: Bridgetown Priory and the Architecture of the Augustinian Canons Regular in Ireland, (Cork, 1999)
  • Westropp, T.J., ‘The Augustinian Houses of the County Clare: Clare, Killone and Inchicronan’ in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, (1900) pp 118-135.
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