Tristernagh Abbey (, IPA: ˈmˠanʲəʃtʲəɾʲˈhɾʲɪsˠt̪ˠəɾˠn̪ˠiː), also known as the Priory of Kilbixy or Kilbisky, Tristernagh Priory, or the priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Tristernagh, is a ruined Augustinian monastery in the townland of Tristernagh in the barony of Kilbixy in

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) 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 Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

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 situated on the shores of

Lough Iron Lough Iron () is a small lake on the River Inny, in County Westmeath, Ireland. Description A long and narrow lake, about 4 kilometers in length, it lies downstream from Lough Derravaragh, close to Lough Owel Lough Owel () is a mesotroph ...

, about north east of the village of Ballynacargy. The name "Tristernagh" comes from the Irish ''triostarnach'', "place of thorns".

History

The priory was founded in c. 1190 by Geoffrey de Costentin and was dedicated to

Mary, mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

. Geoffrey, a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

settler, had been granted the land by Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath. There was already an important early church nearby at Kilbixy, dedicated to St Bigseach, which Geoffrey de Costentin subsequently granted to Ralph de Petit, the Archdeacon of Meath.Casey and Rowan ''The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster'', p.346 The first prior on record was named Henry, possibly a relative of the founder. Several of the

Bishops of Ardagh The Bishop of Ardagh was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardagh, County Longford in Ireland. It was used by the Roman Catholic Church until 1756, and intermittently by the Church of Ireland until 1839. Trad ...

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 ...

were benefactors of the priory during its history. The final prior was Edmund Nugent,

Bishop of Kilmore The Bishop of Kilmore is an episcopal title which takes its name after the parish of Kilmore, County Cavan in Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other bisho ...

. In 1536 the abbey was ransacked by the commissioners of

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disagreement w ...

and closed down; Nugent was pensioned off with a payment of £26 13s. 6d, with smaller pensions given to five canons, and the Abbey land was subsequently granted to

William Piers William Piers may refer to: * William Piers (bishop), vice-chancellor of Oxford University, bishop of Peterborough, and of Bath and Wells * William Piers (constable) William Piers (c. 1510 – 1603) was an English constable, who spent most of ...

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. There was formerly a tradition in Kilbixy parish that at the time of the Reformation the Friars had removed the Abbey bells and thrown them into Lough Iron. The last prior willfully surrendered to crown forces on 30 November 1539.

Later history

According to a memorial inscription in the ruined church of Templecross nearby, the Abbey was repaired by William Piers' son Henry Piers, who converted to Catholicism in later life. It is also possible that the monastery was returned to religious use during the

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

period, as there was a disagreement in 1646 between

Thomas Dease Thomas Dease was at one time Roman Catholic Bishop of Meath. He was born in Ireland in 1568 and died in Galway in 1651. He sprang from an ancient Irish family at one time possessing considerable landed property in County Cavan and County Westme ...

and the Papal Nuncio Rinuccini over an appointment to it. The ruins of the abbey were described as still very substantial in 1682 by their then-owner

Sir Henry Piers Sir Henry Piers 1st Baronet (1629–1691), of Tristernagh Abbey, County Westmeath, Ireland was an Anglo-Irish landowner, soldier, Member of Parliament, Sheriff of Counties Longford and Westmeath, Sheriff of St Johnstown, and an antiquarian. Bi ...

, but were largely pulled down by one of his descendants, Sir Pigott Piers, in 1783 in an act later described, by topographer

James Norris Brewer James Jupp Norris Brewer (11 September 1777 – March 1839) was an English topographer and novelist. He wrote many romances and topographical compilations, he also contributed to the series called the ''Beauties of England and Wales''. All the fo ...

as "an outrage ..the name of Tristernagh should never be mentioned without an expression of contempt ..towards that of Sir Pigott William Piers".Brewer, J. N. ''The Beauties of Ireland'', v.2, 1826, pp238-9 That year, Piers incorporated some of the demolished Abbey's building materials into a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

house, Tristernagh House, which by the early 19th century was in a state of severe dilapidation and which was supposedly the inspiration for

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and a significant figure in the evolution of the novel i ...

Castle Rackrent ''Castle Rackrent'' is a short novel by Maria Edgeworth published in 1800. Unlike many of her other novels, which were heavily "edited" by her father, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, before their publication, the published version is close to her origin ...

.Casey and Rowan, ''The Buildings of Ireland: North Leinster: The Counties of Longford, Louth, Meath and Westmeath'', 1993, p.147 Locally it was widely believed that the clearing of the old monastery graveyard in 1783 had brought ruin on the family. Piers' son had a new house constructed around half a kilometer to the north-west, and little now remains of either the abbey or the succeeding house on the site.

O'Doherty's Bush

In the late 17th century a local tradition was recorded by Sir Henry Piers that a force of 600 men under O'Doherty, the Lord of

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfor ...

, had camped in the grounds of the Abbey before being defeated and mostly slain under its walls. It has been suggested that the story referred to

Cahir O' Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( or ; 1587 – 5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Irish Chief of the Name, chief of the O'Doherty family, O'Doherty clan, who in 1608 launched O'Doherty's rebellion, a failed rebellion against the English crown. O'Doherty w ...

's father Sir Shane O'Doherty, who is known to have been sent to the area from the army of

Hugh Roe O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell II (; 20 October 1572 – 30 August 1602), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell, was an Irish Chief of the Name, clan chief and senior leader of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War (Ireland), Nine Years' War. He was ...

subsequent to the

Battle of Curlew Pass The Battle of Curlew Pass was fought on 15 August 1599 during the campaign of the Earl of Essex in the Nine Years' War, between an English force under Sir Conyers Clifford and a rebel Irish force led by Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill (Red Hugh O'Don ...

in 1599.''Letters Containing Information Relative to the Antiquities of the Counties of Ireland: Westmeath'' (1931), Ordnance Survey. X A thornbush (still in existence in 1837) and hillock in Tristernagh Demesne were pointed out by locals as the site of O'Doherty's encampment; and "O'Doherty's Bush" was shown on the 19th century

Ordnance Survey The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...

sheet for Kilbixy parish.Doherty. ''Inis-Owen and Tirconnell. Being some account of antiquities and writers of the county of Donegal'', 1895, p.477

Baronetcy

The Piers Baronets, of Tristernagh Abbey is an extant peerage in the

Baronetage of Ireland Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

References

Notes

Sources

* * * Overbey, Karen. ''Sacral Geographies: Saints, Shrines and Territory in Medieval Ireland''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012. * {{coord missing, County Westmeath Religious buildings and structures in County Westmeath Archaeological sites in County Westmeath Christian monasteries established in the 1190s Augustinian monasteries in the Republic of Ireland Ruins in the Republic of Ireland Former populated places in Ireland