Adare Friary
Encyclopedia
Adare
-General information:Adare's origin is as a settlement by a crossing point on the river Maigue. It is situated 16 km from Limerick City. Renowned as one of Ireland's prettiest villages, Adare is designated as a Heritage Town by the Irish government...
, County Limerick
County Limerick
It is thought that humans had established themselves in the Lough Gur area of the county as early as 3000 BC, while megalithic remains found at Duntryleague date back further to 3500 BC...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, formerly known as the "Black Abbey", is an Augustinian Friary founded in 1316 by the Earl of Kildare. It is now known as "St. Nicholas' Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
" parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, and St Nicholas' National School.
History
The Augustinian friars first came to Dublin from England in about 1260. They were invited to Adare by John FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare in 1316 and given land and houses in the town.The dedication of the church of the Friars Minor of Adare in honour of St Michael the Archangel, that is on 19 November, that is on the feast of St. Pontian, Martyr and of St. Eliz of Hungary, widow, was erected as a convent at the provincial chapter in the year 1464 held in that year on the feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul..., after having been built by the Lord Thomas, Count Kildare, and his wife Joanna, the daughter of James, Count Desmond, who, at their own expense, built the church and a quarter of the cloister, and gave the windows of the church and the belltower and two silver chalices. and I [?] live in the Provincial Chapter-House received into the convent,
The church was consecrated on the feast of All Saints and the Friars entered it on the same year..
The church was consecrated in honour of St Michael the Archangel in the year 1466, on the feast of the same St Michael by the Friars Minor of the Observance, and the following are the places which were consecrated, apart from the church and the things bought at the same time: a cloister on all sides, inner and outer and both the sacristies the whole cemetery except for the southern section which was left not consecrated for those who are not admitted to holy burial.
The remaining parts of the buildings were built by the following: Cornelius O' Sullivan had the bell-tower built, and being a good and devout colon [pied noir?] says the old book gave a good gold chalice;
Margaret ni Gibbon, wife of the good poet Cuulaidh o Daly, caused the larger chapel to be built, Lord John, son of Count Desmond, had the first minor chapel built; Lord Leogh of Tulac Aoibinn and Margaret of Maurice of Thomas[/] the second minor chapel; Lord Donatus [i.e. Donnchad O’Brien – see 1502 entry)son of Bernard Nigri and Anina Donani and Brian Ara the dormitory. A certain Rory O'Day, a member of the Third Order, paid for a quarter of the cloister and gave a good silver chalice. Another Third Order man, Morianus O'Hickey, caused the refectory and the northern wood choir, and afterwards was made a brother in this monastery and lived and died in the greatest holiness. Lord Donald, son of Daly Finn and Sabina, daughter of Daly's wife [?] paid for a quarter of the cloister. Then again the Lord Edmond, son of Thomas, knight of Glinn, and Honorina, daughter of Mathghabhna built the infirmary; she died on 13 May 1503. Next Joanna, daughter of O'Faolain formerly wife of Lord McGi/obu/in Muithabhnach, caused to be added a space of ten feet being the length in which the servers sit at the high altar, and under which she arranged for her tomb to be made. The aforementioned Cornelius O'Sullivan, who caused the bell-tower to be built died on 16 Jan 1492, Margaret Ni Gibbon who caused the chapel of St Mary, died on 23 Jan. 1483. Donat etc. son of Bernard Negri O Brien who built the dormitory, died on the vigil of St Francis 1502 [3 Oct). The Lord Thomas died ... on 25 March 1478. Joanna, his wife, died on the feast of St Anthony of Padua, (13 June?).
BRUSSELS MS 3947, pp. 44–46: Analecta Hibernica., No.6, Nov. 1934, pp. 63–64.
By 1541 the Augustinians owned nearly 80 acres (323,748.8 m²) of land, several cottages and gardens in the village and a fishing weir on the river. As part of the Tudor suppression of Irish Monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
at the end of the 16th century, the Augustinians were driven out of Adare and had moved to Limerick City by 1633.
Many of the features of the friary are very well preserved, particularly the small 15th century cloister
Cloister
A cloister is a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth...
and sedilia
Sedilia
Sedilia , in ecclesiastical architecture, is the term used to describe stone seats, usually to be found on the south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for the use of the officiating priests...
.
The Dunraven family continued restoration work on the friary through the 19th century.
Church
The church is now used by the Church of IrelandChurch of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
to serve the region of Adare. It is a part of the wider Adare union of parishes, which also includes Croom
Croom
Croom is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located just off the N20 on the River Maigue. It is 8 km southeast of Adare on the N20.-History:...
, Kilpeacon
Crecora
Crecora is a village in County Limerick, Ireland, located approximately from Limerick city.With a population of around four hundred people, the village has a shop, church, school, stone yard, garden centre, GAA pitch and post office, although no pub....
and Kilmallock
Kilmallock
Kilmallock or Kilmalloc is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle . The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are still visible. The Dublin–Cork railway line passes by the town,...
.
School
St Nicholas' National School was established by the Earl of Dunraven in 1814, becoming a national school in 1862. It is a co-educational primary school with a Church of Ireland ethosEthos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
.
The school was originally housed in the refectory
Refectory
A refectory is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminaries...
of the friary. In early 2007, construction began on a new school building behind the original monastery. The building has three classrooms and has sedum
Sedum
Sedum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. It contains around 400 species of leaf succulents that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, varying from annual and creeping herbs to shrubs. The plants have...
growing on its roof. The old school had two classrooms divided by a partition wall.
Construction was completed in August 2008, with teachers and pupils moving into the new school in September, at the start of the new school year. On 12 December 2008, the building was officially opened by Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin
Mary Hanafin is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who was a Teachta Dála for Dún Laoghaire from 1997 to 2011. She served as Government Chief Whip , Minister for Education and Science , Minister for Social and Family Affairs , Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister for Enterprise,...
TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
, who was the Minister for Education and Science when construction started. The old building is now used for PE
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
and drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
classes.
Burials
- Windham Wyndham-Quin, 5th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl
- Windham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-EarlWindham Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-EarlWindham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl KP PC , styled Viscount Adare between 1850 and 1871, was an Irish journalist, landowner, entrepreneur, sportsman and Conservative politician. He served as Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies under Lord Salisbury from 1885 to...
- Valentine Quin, 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount-EarlValentine Quin, 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount-EarlValentine Richard Quin, 1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, 1st Baronet was an Irish Peer.He had presumably chosen the title of ‘Dunraven’ in honour of his daughter-in-law, Caroline Wyndham, who had married his eldest son in 1810. His earldom lasted only two years and in 1824 his son, Windham...
- John FitzGerald, 1st Earl of KildareJohn FitzGerald, 1st Earl of KildareJohn FitzThomas FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Kildare was a Peer in the Peerage of Ireland.The eldest son of Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald and Rohesia de St...
- Thomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of KildareThomas FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of KildareThomas FitzJohn FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Kildare, Lord Offaly was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland and Lord Justice of Ireland....
See also
- List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Limerick)