Jump to content

Kinalehin Friary

From Catholicism Wiki
Cenél Féichín
Side chapels
Side chapels
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 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

Kinalehin Friary (also Kinaleghin; Irish: Mainistir Chineál Fhéichín), originally a medieval charterhouse or Carthusian monastery and later a Franciscan friary, is a National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.

Kinalehin Charterhouse 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.

References

  1. Back to citation McDermott, Yvonne. "Kinalehin, Co. Galway: a history of Ireland's only Carthusian priory and its conversion to a Franciscan friary".
  2. Back to citation "Site details: Kinalehin - Monastic Ireland - A Comprehensive Database of Sites and Sources". monie.tth2.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  3. Back to citation Greene, J. Patrick (1 October 2005). Medieval Monasteries. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781441117748 – via Google Books.
  4. Back to citation "The Carthusians in Ireland".
  5. Back to citation 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.
  6. Back to citation Duffy, Sean (5 July 2017). Routledge Revivals: Medieval Ireland (2005): An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 9781351666169 – via Google Books.
  7. Back to citation "4196 « Excavations". www.excavations.ie. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  8. Back to citation Duffy, Seán (15 January 2005). Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 1135948232 – via Google Books.