Clonard Abbey
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Clonard Abbey (, meaning "Erard's Meadow") was an early
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
situated on the
River Boyne The River Boyne ( or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows north-east through County Meath to reach the ...
in Clonard,
County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.


Early history

The monastery was founded in about
520 __NOTOC__ Year 520 ( DXX) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rusticus and Vitalianus (or, less frequently, year 1273 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...
by Saint Finnian, who initially constructed a single cell at the site. The original site may have been at nearby Ard Relec. According to medieval chronicles, Finnian was led to the site by an
angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
who told him that it would be the place of his
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...
. He was well-travelled, and based his monastery on the training he received at Tours and Llancarfan. Finnian was buried on the site after his death in about 549. During the sixth century, some of the most significant names in the history of Irish Christianity (who would go on to be known as the
Twelve Apostles of Ireland The Twelve Apostles of Ireland (also known as Twelve Apostles of Erin, ) were twelve early Irish monastic saints of the sixth century who studied under St Finnian (d. 549) at his famous monastic school Clonard Abbey at Cluain-Eraird (Erard's ...
) studied at the monastery. Clonard was situated on the
Esker Riada The Esker Riada () is a system of eskers that stretch across the middle of Ireland, between Dublin and Galway. Geography The Esker Riada is a collection of eskers that passes through the counties of Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Offaly ...
, Ireland's main east-west road in early medieval times, adding to its prominence. However, it was also on the boundary between the kingdoms of
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
and
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
that were occasionally at war. From the eighth century onwards, Clonard came under the control of various rival political dynasties, and by the mid-ninth century, it was the leading church of the Irish midlands. The abbot of Clonard led the clergy of the midlands in the same fashion that the abbot of
Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland â€“ the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...
led those in the north. During its heyday, a hymn written in Finnian's honour claimed that the monastery's school housed 3,000 pupils receiving religious instruction at any given time.''Colatur a fidelibus'' from ''Brev. ms. Hibernicum saec. 15. Cod. Oxonien. Miscell. Liturg. 215.'' This hymn is reprinted in A great part of the abbey erected by St. Finian was burnt in 764. Like many monastic sites in Ireland, Clonard suffered heavy losses under the
Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9â ...
raids of the ninth through eleventh centuries. In the year 838 the Danes destroyed it and put the clergy to the sword. They returned again in 888."A Relic of Clonard, County Meath", ''Dublin Illustrated Journal'', Volume 1, Number 35, 3 May 1862
/ref> In 939, Ceallachan, King of Cashel, assisted by the Danes of Waterford, plundered the abbey. In 970, Donell, son of Murcha, pillaged and burnt Clonard.


As a diocese

From the
Synod of Ráth Breasail The Synod of Ráth Breasail (or Rathbreasail; ) was a synod of the Catholic Church in Ireland that took place in Ireland in 1111. It marked the transition of the Irish church from a monastic to a diocesan and parish-based church. Many present-day ...
(1111), it was the centre of the new see of Clonard, to which, were added the bishoprics of Trim, Ardbraccan, Dunshaughlin, and Slane, indicating its importance at the time. This was confirmed at the
Synod of Kells The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys o ...
in 1152. In 1113, Connor, King of Munster, plundered Meath and forcibly carried off the riches of the whole province, which had been lodged for safety in the abbey church.Lewis, Samuel. "Clonard, A Post Town and Parish", ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland'', S. Lewis & Co., London, 1837
/ref> A great part of the abbey, and all the library, was consumed by an accidental fire in 1143. The abbey and town were despoiled and burnt in 1170, by M'Murcha, aided by Earl Strongbow and the English, and having been afterwards rebuilt, they suffered a similar fate in the year 1175. That same year, Walter, son of Hugh de Lacy, erected, probably on the ruins of the ancient abbey, an Augustinian monastery. Clonard fell into decline during the twelfth century, and in 1202, the Norman bishop de Rochfort transferred the see from Clonard to Trim in the new
Diocese of Meath The Diocese of Meath () is an Irish diocese which took its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it still exists as a separate diocese, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other dioceses. Histor ...
. Very little remains of the site today. From the air, the outlines of some wall boundaries and other earthworks are visible.


Annalistic references

See
Annals of Inisfallen The ''Annals of Inisfallen'' () are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. Overview There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between 433 and 1450. The manuscript is thought to have been compiled in 1092, as the chronic ...
(AI) * ''AI748a Kl. Repose of Mo-Dímóc of Cluain Iraird.'' * ''AI870.1 Kl. Repose of Suairlech of In tEidnén, abbot of Cluain Iraird.'' * ''AI926.1 Kl. Repose of Colmán son of Ailill abbot of Cluain Moccu Nóis and Cluain Iraird.'' * ''AI954.2 Repose of Dub Inse, learned bishop of Ireland, and of Cellachán, king of Caisel, and of Éladach the learned, abbot of Ros Ailithir, and of Uarach, bishop of Imlech Ibuir, and of Célechair, abbot of Cluain Moccu Nóis and Cluain Iraird, and of Cormac Ua Maíl Shluaig, learned sage of Mumu, and of Lugaid Ua Maíl Shempail, abbot of Domnach Pátraic, and of Cenn Faelad son of Suibne, anchorite of Cluain Ferta Brénainn.''


References


External links


Clonard Heritage Trail


See also

* List of abbeys and priories in County Meath {{WikidataCoord, Q1785643 Christian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Buildings and structures in County Meath Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Former cathedrals in Ireland Former churches in County Meath