Holy Trinity Abbey is a former medieval Premonstratensian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

Lough Key Lough Key ( gle, Loch Cé) is a lake in Ireland. It is in the northwest of County Roscommon, northeast of the town of Boyle. The lough is believed to be named after a mythical figure named Cé. Name The name ''Lough Key'' comes from the Irish ...

, Ireland.

Location

Holy Trinity Abbey is located on Trinity Island, an island of 0.9 ha (2.2 ac) in the southern part of

, facing Rockingham House.

History

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A monastic site existed on the island from the 7th century AD, and a gable and church doorway of the 9th century survive. Holy Trinity Priory was founded in 1215 by Clarus Mag Máilin, archdeacon of Elphin, the island being gifted by Cathal O'Reilly, king of East Bréifne. Some monks came here from

Boyle Abbey Boyle Abbey ( ga, Mainistir na Búille) is a ruined Cistercian friary located in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland. It was founded by Saint Malachy in the 12th century. History In the 12th century, Saint Malachy became aware of two new mon ...

in 1228. It was raised to abbey status c. 1235. The standard claustral plan was envisaged but only the east range was actually built. It acquired a daughter house on Lough Oughter, County Cavan in 1237. The religious and lay brothers were buried within the abbey and in two cemeteries on the island. In 1436 the

anchoress In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret (female: anchoress) is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. While anchorites ar ...

Gormfhlaith died here. Excavation suggests that the building to the north of the church was rebuilt after burning down in the 15th century, and this is confirmed by an annal entry in 1466 which blamed a fire on "the negligence of a woman." The

Annals of Loch Cé The ''Annals of Loch Cé'' (also ''Annals of Lough Cé'') cover events, mainly in Connacht and its neighbouring regions, from 1014 to 1590. It takes its name from Lough Cé in the kingdom of Moylurg - now north County Roscommon - which was the ...

, covering events between 1014 and 1590, were written here. Holy Trinity Abbey was held in commendam by Ruaidri mac Diarmata (Rory MacDermot, King of Moylurg) from 1548 and granted to a Robert Harrison in 1594. Sir

Conyers Clifford Sir Conyers Clifford (c. 1566 – 1599) was an English politician and military commander. Life and career He was the son of George Clifford, esq., of Bobbing Court in Kent, by his wife Ursula, daughter of Roger Finch. His elder brother, Henry ...

was buried there in 1599. The abbey owned property at Aghnasurn and Estersnow. The last monks left in 1608 when King James I confiscated the monastery. One tomb on the island is of Úna Bhán MacDermot ("Fair Úna"). She was daughter of Brian Óg MacDermot (king of Moylurg 1603–36) who refused to let her to marry Tomás Láidir Costello ("Strong Thomas"), the son of one of his enemies. She died of a broken heart, and Tomás is said to have swum across to weep at her grave. Later he died too, and was buried next to Úna. A 1991 excavation found silver coins of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, bronze

ferrule A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...

, iron

knife A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidence ...

and nails, pottery and

rotary quern Quern-stones are stone tools for hand-grinding a wide variety of materials. They are used in pairs. The lower stationary stone of early examples is called a saddle quern, while the upper mobile stone is called a muller, rubber or handstone. The ...

fragments.

Buildings

The Abbey was constructed from the local rocks: pale grey sandstone and limestone. The church contained

sedilia In church architecture, sedilia (plural of Latin ''sedīle'', "seat") are seats, usually made of stone, found on the liturgical south side of an altar, often in the chancel, for use during Mass for the officiating priest and his assistants, th ...

and

chapter room A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

References

{{Authority control Premonstratensian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Religion in County Roscommon Archaeological sites in County Roscommon National Monuments in County Roscommon 1215 establishments in Ireland