Grangefertagh is a former

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

located in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

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 ...

. It is today a

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 sp ...

Location

Grangefertagh is located about north of Johnstown, County Kilkenny, near a crossing-point on the River Goul.

History

Grangefertagh was founded in the sixth century AD by Saint

Ciarán of Saigir Ciarán of Saigir (; 5th century – ), also known as Ciarán mac Luaigne or Saint Kieran (), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and is considered the first saint to have been born in Ireland,''Catholic Online''St. Kieran/ref> a ...

, and known as Fearta-Cáerach ("Sheep's Tomb"). In 861

Cerball mac Dúnlainge Cerball mac Dúnlainge (patronymic sometimes spelled ''Dúngaile'', ) (died 888) was king of Ossory in south-east Ireland. The kingdom of Ossory (''Osraige'') occupied roughly the area of modern County Kilkenny and western County Laois and lay b ...

killed a host of

Vikings 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. 9� ...

at Fertagh, taking forty heads. A

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain wall (fortification), curtain walls. Castle ...

was later built. In 1156 the high king

Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn Muircheartach Mac Lochlainn (; ) was king of Tír Eoghain, and High King of Ireland from around 1156 until his death in 1166. He succeeded Toirdhealbhach Ua Conchobhair who died in 1156. Mac Lochlainn survived an attempt by Ruaidrí Ua Con ...

burned the tower with the

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses. Academic The title ''lector'' may be applied to lecturers ...

inside. The monastery was reopened by the de Blancheville family for the

Canons Regular of St Augustine The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious ...

in the early 13th century. In 1421 it was so destroyed and desolated that its religious could not 'remain therein, but must wander about and beg their daily bread' but in 1455 it was rebuilt by Thady Megirid/Magriyd, a canon of Inchmacnerin. The monastery was dissolved in 1541 but the church of was in use until 1780 and now forms part of a

Gaelic handball Gaelic handball (known in Ireland simply as handball; ) is a sport where players hit a ball with a hand or fist against a wall in such a way as to make a shot the opposition cannot return, and that may be played with two (singles) or four player ...

alley.

Buildings

Round tower

The tower is tall. It has nine windows: six angle-headed and three

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

led. Four of the angle-headed windows are on the top storey facing the four

cardinal directions The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four main compass directions: north (N), south (S), east (E), and west (W). The corresponding azimuths ( clockwise horizontal angle from north) are 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. The four ...

. The tower is complete to the

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...

but only part of the cap remains. The doorway faces northeast and is above the ground. Sometime before 1800, a local farmer removed some stones from the original doorcase because he believed that they had magical fire-resistant properties. The doorway as it appears now is a later repair job.

Church

There is an Augustinian monastery church (13th century) west of the tower. A side chapel contains a 16th century tomb said by Carrigan to be that of Seán Mac Giolla Phádraig,

King of Osraige The kings of Osraige (alternately spelled ''Osraighe'' and Anglicised as ''Ossory'') reigned over the medieval Irish kingdom of Osraige from the first or second century AD until the late twelfth century. Osraige was a semi-provincial kingdom in s ...

. The tomb has

effigies An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

of a man in armour and a woman, said to be Seán’s wife Nóirín Ní Mórdha. Carrigan claimed other members of the Mac Giolla Phádraig dynasty also rest there. The chest is decorated with

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

and lierne vaulting in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

. A 2020 article reviews various unusual aspects of the tomb that scholars, including Carrigan, have found make it an exception compared with other similar tombs built by Ormond sculptors.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Megalithic Ireland page on GrangefertaghThe Fitzpatrick Clan SocietyThe Fitzpatrick – Mac Giolla Phádraig Clan Society
Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Archaeological sites in County Kilkenny National monuments in County Kilkenny Religion in County Kilkenny Monasteries dissolved under the Irish Reformation FitzPatrick dynasty