Ballinskelligs Priory
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Ballinskelligs Abbey () was an Augustinian priory, (also known as the Priory of the Arroasian Canons of the Order of St Augustine). It is located on the
Iveragh Peninsula The Iveragh Peninsula () is located in County Kerry in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its hig ...
in
County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
, Ireland. The medieval priory, built in the 12 and 13th centuries, was established as a mainland priory for the monks of
Skellig Michael Skellig Michael ( ), also called Great Skellig ( ), is a twin-pinnacled crag west of the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The island is named after the archangel Michael, with "Skellig" derived from the Irish language word , meaning ...
who were abandoning the island due to adverse weather conditions. The ruined medieval site originally consisted of church, cloister, Prior's house,
refectory A refectory (also frater, frater house, fratery) is a dining room, especially in monastery, monasteries, boarding schools and academic institutions. One of the places the term is most often used today is in graduate seminary, seminaries. The name ...
, and burial ground.


Description

Ballinskelligs Priory is located on the western shore of Ballinskelligs Bay, on the
Iveragh Peninsula The Iveragh Peninsula () is located in County Kerry in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland. A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks, lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil, its hig ...
in
Kerry, Ireland County Kerry () is a county on the southwest coast of Ireland, within the province of Munster and the Southern Region. It is bordered by two other counties; Limerick to the east, and Cork to the south and east. It is separated from Clare to th ...
. The priory buildings contain architectural details from the 13th century to the 15th century. The church and other ruined structures are arranged around a central cloister. A building known as the ‘Prior’s House’ is connected to the church at an angle to the nave. Southwest of the church is the refectory. The rectangular church consists of the nave and the remains of the chancel. The chancel has a pointed arched wall with a small
bellcote A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
. The church was built with roughly coursed rubble set in a lime and gravel mortar. There is evidence on the interior walls that the church was once plastered. Three doorways in the nave at the south west end, provide access to the cloister area. There is a blocked central doorway which partially covers the remains of an ogee-headed window. There are also damaged and fragmentary remains of the cloister. Inside the Prior’s House are remains from the church: portions of an ogee headed window, large drainage stones, and pieces from an arched doorway. Due to its proximity to the shoreline, erosion by the sea has destroyed a large portion of the eastern edge of the medieval complex. Conservation work on the priory has been carried out along with the building of a sea-wall to protect the remaining ruins. Two other monuments adjacent to the priory complex include a burial site that is now in the sea at the eastern border of the site and the remains of an ancient settlement to the northwest of the abbey. There are ten tombs in different states of disrepair and over 200 gravestones in the graveyard, several in the church interior. The site is a protected national monument.


History

The priory, also known as the Priory of the Arroasian Canons of the Order of St Augustine, was built between 1210 and 1225 by the Augustinian Canons from Rattoo, near
Ballyduff, County Kerry Ballyduff () is a village near Listowel, County Kerry, Ireland. Located on the R551 road between Ballyheigue and Ballybunion on hills above Cashen Bay where the River Feale flows to the sea at the mouth of the River Shannon. History Near Bal ...
. The Skellig Michael monastery is believed to have transferred to this location before the mid-11th century due to continuously hazardous weather conditions on the island. The new priory was dedicated to St. Michael the Archaangel. The priory retained ownership of Skellig Michael and used the island monastery as a summer retreat. The priory was occupied until 1568 and was disbanded in 1578 during the reign of Elizabeth I. The property was granted to Gyles Clincher in 1578, and subsequently leased to consecutive tenants over the next two hundred years. Richard Harding became the landowner in 1756. He bequeathed Ballinskellings manor, the abbey and surrounding lands to his daughter's betrothed, Christopher Sigerson, after his daughter died before their wedding day. The abbey and manor stayed in the Sigerson family until after 1902, when Harold Sigerson Mahony (1867–1905) of Dromore Castle inherited the property. Mahony, a talented Irish tennis player and singles winner at
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
in 1896, died in a bicycle accident in 1905. His estate was inherited by his sister, Norah Hood, and subsequently bequeathed to the Waller family.


See also

*
Skellig Islands The Skellig Islands (), historically "the Skellocks", are two small, steep, and rocky islands lying about west of Bolus Head off the Iveragh Peninsula in County Kerry, Ireland. The larger of the two is Skellig Michael (also known as Great Skel ...
*
Killagha Abbey Killagha Abbey of Our Lady of Bello Loco, also called Kilcolman Abbey, is a ruined Augustinian abbey and former manor house in County Kerry, Ireland. The abbey is 1 km north-west of Milltown, near the River Maine. History The abbey was f ...
* Inisfallen Abbey


Gallery

Ballinskelligs Priory.jpg, View from above Ballinskelligs_-_The_Old_Abbey.jpg, Abbey ruins File:Interior_of_Ballinskelligs_Priory_church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5647389.jpg, Abbey interior South_side_of_Ballinskelligs_Priory_church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5647391.jpg, View of south wall Graveyard_at_Ballinskelligs_Priory,_County_Kerry_-_geograph.org.uk_-_5647382.jpg, Abbey burial ground


References

{{coord, 51, 48, 55, N, 10, 16, 19, W, region:IE-KY_type:landmark_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland