Historical Postcard Collection: Thurles - Holycross Abbey
Bailiúchán Chártaí Poist Stairiúla: Durlas – Mainistir na Croiche
Today restored to it 15th Century splendour, Holycross Abbey was founded by Donagh O'Brien, King of Thomond, as a Cistercian monastery in 1180. It is situated on the western bank of the River Suir, beside the main road that runs from Cashel to Thurles. The Abbey offers a rare glimpse to the modern visitor of what 14th and 15th Century monasteries, the ruins of which grace the country's landscape, would have looked like when at the height of their powers.
Architectural Features
The majority of the Abbey dates from the early 15th Century, although parts of the nave are of the original late 12th/early 13th Century structure. The interior of the church houses several noteworthy pieces of design and decoration. There is a beautifully carved sedilia in the chancel, known traditionally as "The Tomb of the Good Woman's Son". It carries the arms of England, the Butler family, the Fitzgeralds and the Abbey itself. Situated in the south transept is a shrine known as "The Waking Bier of the Monks". It has been put forward that this shrine was used to house the bodies of dead monks prior to their burial, but it is more likely that it was here that the relic of the True Cross, from which the Abbey gets its name, was housed. On the wall of the north transept can be seen a tempera painting from the 14th Century. Measuring 4 feet by 16 feet, it depicts a hunting scene from that period: shown is a huntsman with a hound, 2 archers and a stag, which is taking refuge behind an oak tree. The painting is not thought to depict any specific scene from the history of the Abbey.
The Relic of the Cross
As previously mentioned, the Abbey derives its name from the relic of the cross that was housed in the church. It was granted to Muirchertach O'Brien by Pope Paschal II in 1110. Another account states that the relic was a gift from Eleanor, the wife of Henry II. It remained in the Abbey until 1633, when the then Abbot, Luke Archer, accompanied by some of the monks, took up residence in Kilkenny, taking the relic with them.
Dissolution and Restoration
Despite the fact that the Abbey was dissolved in 1536 (and granted to the Earl of Ormond), it still functioned as a working monastery until 1752. It was in that year that a monk called Cormack, the last cleric to reside in the Abbey, died. After his death the Abbey was used extensively as a burial ground, and fell into ruin.
Reconstruction work on the Abbey began in the 1970s, the eventual goal being to re-establish the church as a fully operational place of worship. This goal was achieved in October 1975 when a celebration of restoration was held in the Abbey, marking the building's rebirth as the parish church of Holycross. The 1970s also saw the return of the artefact that had first made the monastery famous, the Relic of the Cross, granted to the Abbey from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Sources – Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, "Holy Cross Abbey"; Dúchas, "Archaeological Inventory of Co. Tipperary, Vol. 1"
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last updated on: Friday, 03-Feb-12 19:32:08 GMT
Ar chomhchéim áilleachta inniu leis an 15ú hAois, bhunaigh Donchadha Ua Briain, Rí Thuamhumhan, Mainistir na Croiche in 1180. Tá sí suite ar bhruach thiar na Siúire, in aice an bhóthair a ritheann ó Chaiseal go Durlas. Tugann an Mhainistir léargas annamh do chuairteoirí den tsaol a bíodh ann i Mainistreacha na 14ú agus na 15ú hAoise, a seasann a bhfothracha ar fud na tíre.
Gnéithe Ailtireachta
Tagann formhór na Mainistreach ón 15ú hAois, ach tagann cuid de chorp na hEaglaise ón 12ú nó 13ú hAois. Tá mórán píosaí tábhachtacha ó thaobh deartha de, taobh istigh den séipéal. Tá sedilia dea-snoite sa saingeal ar a dtugtar ar a dtugtar “Uaigh Mhic na Mná Maithe” air go traidisiúnta. Tá armas Shasana, armas na mBuitléireach, armas Mhic Gearailt agus armas na Mainistreach féin air. Sa chroslann theas, tá scrín ar a dtugtar “Cróchar Siúil na Manach”. Tá teoiric ann gur anseo a cuireadh coirp na manach sular cuireadh iad, ach is dóigh gur anseo a raibh an taise ón bhFíor-Chrois, a ainmníodh an Mhainistir in ndiaidh. Ar bhall na croslaiine thuaidh, tá pictiúr tempera ón 14ú hAois. Ar tomhas 4 troithe faoi 16 troithe, léiríonn sé radharc seilge ón am sin: feictear fear seilge le cú, beirt bhoghdóir agus carria taobh thiar de dhair. Ní ceaptar gur radharc é seo as stair na Mainistreach.
Taise na Croise
Mar a dúradh thuas, tagann ainm na Mainistreach ón taise ón bhFíor-Chrois a bhí á choimead ann. Thug an Pápa Paschal do Mhuircheartach Ua Briain é sa bhliain 1110. Deir leagan eile den scéal gur bronntanas a bhí ann ó Eleanor, bean Anraí II. D’fhan sé sa Mhainistir suas go dtí 1633, nuair a bhog an Ab, Liúcás Mac an Bhoghdóra, agus roinnt de na manaigh, go Cill Chainnigh leis an taise.
Díscaoileadh agus Athghairm
Cé gur díscaoileadh an Mhainistir i 1536 (agus tugadh d’Iarla Urmhumhan é), bhí sí ag feidhmiú suas go dtí 1752. Ba sa bhliain sin a cailleadh Cormac, an manch deireanach a chónaigh ann. Tar éis a bhás, úsáideadh mar reilg í, agus thit an Mhainistir as úsáid.
Thosaigh athchóiriú na Mainistreach sna 1970daí, agus bhí sé mar aidhm í a bheith mar ionad adhartha ceart. Baineadh amach an cuspóir seo i nDeireadh Fómhair na bliana 1975, nuair a d’oscail an foirgneamh arís mar séipéal paróiste Mhainistir na Croiche. Sna 1970daí tháinig an déantúsán a tharraing cliú ar an Mhainistir ar ais chuici: bhronn Baisleac Pheadair Taise na Fíor-Chroise uirthi.
Foinsí – Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, "Holy Cross Abbey"; Dúchas, "Archaeological Inventory of Co. Tipperary, Vol. 1"
Léigh níos mó faoi:
Brabhsáil an bailiúchán chártaí poist stairiúla:
Cluain Meala - Nenagh - Tipperary - Roscrea - Templemore - Carrick on Suir - Cashel - Cahir - Thurles - Gleann Eatharlaí
nuashonraithe ar: Friday, 03-Feb-12 19:32:08 GMT