Kinalehin Friary
Cenél Féichín | |
 Side chapels | |
  Location within Ireland | |
| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Domo dei; Kilnalahan; Kinaleghin; Kenaloyn; Cenel-Feichin; Cineoil-Feichin; Kilnalekin; Kinelfeichin |
| Order | Carthusian Order (c.1252–c.1341) Order of Friars Minor Conventual (c.1371–1540) Observant Franciscan Friars (1611–1700s) |
| Established | c.1252; refounded c.1371, 1611 |
| Disestablished | c.1341, 1540, 1700s |
| Mother house | Hinton Charterhouse (Carthusian era) |
| Diocese | Clonfert |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | John de Cogan |
| Architecture | |
| Status | Inactive |
| Style | Late Gothic, Romanesque |
| Site | |
| Location | Friary, Abbey, County Galway |
| Coordinates | 53°06′10″N 8°23′33″W / 53.102644°N 8.392537°W |
| Visible remains | abbey church, cloister |
| Public access | yes |
| Official name | Kilnalekin Abbey |
| Reference no. | 554 |
Kinalehin Friary is a medieval Carthusian (and later Franciscan) friary and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.
It was Ireland's only Carthusian monastery.[1]
Location
Kinalehin Friary is located 6.7 km (4.2 mi) west of Ballyshrule, northwest of Lough Derg and south of the Duniry River.[2]
History
Kinalehin was founded c. 1252 by John de Cogan for the Carthusians.[3] The first monks came over from Hinton Charterhouse and/or Witham Friary, both located in Somerset. It was purportedly destroyed in 1279 and if so, rebuilt soon after.[4]
In 1306 Kinalehin was sold to the Knights Hospitaller, but the sale appears never to have completed.[5] It was dissolved by the General Chapter (Grande Chartreuse) in 1321 and the diocese of Clonfert took possession in 1341.
Around 1371 Pope Gregory XI granted permission to the de Burgos to refound it, this time with the Order of Friars Minor Conventual.
Kinalehin was shut down in the Dissolution of the Monasteries of 1540. The monastic lands were purchased from Elizabeth I by Richard Burke, 2nd Earl of Clanricarde, who retained it for the friars. It was dissolved before 1609.
It was again refounded in 1611 for the Observant Franciscan Friars. In 1629 An Leabhar Breac, a famous manuscript of the 15th century, was held at Kinalehin.[6]
The friars were expelled after the Cromwellian conquest but returned during the time of Charles II.
Buildings
The archaeological remains are mainly Franciscan, although some Carthusian elements remain as earthworks.[7][8]
The surviving remains consist of cloister, choir and three chapels.
-
nave arches -
-
Cloister and arches -
Cloister and remnants of tower, with fireplace visbile
References
- ^ McDermott, Yvonne. "Kinalehin, Co. Galway: a history of Ireland's only Carthusian priory and its conversion to a Franciscan friary".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Site details: Kinalehin - Monastic Ireland - A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources". monie.tth2.co.uk.
- ^ Greene, J. Patrick (1 October 2005). "Medieval Monasteries". Bloomsbury Publishing – via Google Books.
- ^ http://www.libraryireland.com/articles/carthusian/CarthusiansinIreland.html
- ^ Stevens, John; Moll, Herman (14 May 2018). "Monasticon Hibernicum. Or, The Monastical History of Ireland: Containing, I. All the Abbeys, Priories, Nunneries, and Other Regular Communities which Were in that Kingdom. II. The Time When, and the Titles Under Which, They Were Founded. III. The Name and Quality of Their Founders. IV. The Provinces, Counties, Cities Or Towns in which They Were Seated. V. The Several Regular Orders to which They Belong'd, and the Most Remarkable Circumstances Relating to Their Foundation and Suppression. VI. Historical and Critical Observations, and Draughts of Their Several Habits, with a Map of Ireland." William Mears at the Lamb without Temple-Bar. – via Google Books.
- ^ Duffy, Sean (5 July 2017). "Routledge Revivals: Medieval Ireland (2005): An Encyclopedia". Routledge – via Google Books.
- ^ "4196 « Excavations". www.excavations.ie.
- ^ Duffy, Seán (15 January 2005). "Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia". Routledge – via Google Books.