Timoleague Friary

About

Timoleague Friary (Irish: Mainistir Thigh Molaga), also known as Timoleague Abbey, is a ruined medieval Franciscan friary in Timoleague, County Cork, Ireland, on the banks of the Argideen River overlooking Courtmacsherry Bay. It was built on the site of an early Christian monastic site founded by Saint Molaga, from whom the town of Timoleague derives its name. The present remains date from roughly the turn of the fourteenth century and were burnt down by British forces in the mid-seventeenth century, at which point it was an important ecclesiastical centre that engaged in significant trade with Spain. The friary is the largest medieval ruin in West Cork and one of the few early Franciscan friaries in Ireland to have substantial ruins. It is claustral in layout, and built in the Early English Gothic architectural style. It contains several elements atypical of Franciscan architecture of the period, including wall passages and exterior access to its upper floor. It was significantly altered in the early 16th and early 17th centuries. Several historical artefacts are associated with the friary, and during the Romantic era it was depicted in several notable artworks.

The friary sits on a monastic site dedicated to Saint Molaga dating to either the 6th or 7th century. According to legend, this settlement was originally to be formed a mile west of Timoleague, but all work done on that site by day would fall down by morning. Interpreting this as God's will that the friary be built elsewhere, Molaga supposedly placed a blessed candle on a sheaf of corn, and set it down the Argideen River, building his settlement on the spot that it came ashore, in an area overlooking Courtmacsherry Bay. The town derives its Irish name, Teach Molaga or "Molaga's House" from the saint.

The date of foundation by the Franciscans is disputed. Documentary evidence places the foundation of the friary between 1307 and 1316, though physical evidence suggests that a preexisting 13th-century building was incorporated into the site. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the friary was founded in 1240 by the MacCarthy Reagh family. This has been identified as possibly being too early. Some sources ascribe this claimed foundation to Domhnall Got MacCarthy, while others claim that Got MacCarthy merely expanded the friary anywhere between 1312 and 1366. Domhnall's grandson, Domhnall Glas MacCarthy, is also thought to have been a patron of the friary. Samuel Lewis, in A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland... (1837) writes that the MacCarthy's founded the friary in 1312. The friary's foundation has also been attributed to the Anglo-Norman de Barry family in the early 14th century. Though the friars were well established in Timoleague by 1320, the earliest surviving parts of the ruined friary date from later in the 14th century. It is likely that they were based in Timoleague Castle prior to the construction of the friary.

By the 15th century, the friary was recognised as a centre of learning, and also as an important ecclesiastical centre. In 1460, Timoleague became one of the first houses in the Franciscan order to recognise the observantine reform. Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, also known as "Blessed Thaddeus", is said to have been educated by the friars in Timoleague around this time. According to the Annals of Ulster, in 1505 Patrick Ó Feidhil, a famous preacher in Ireland and Scotland, was buried in the friary.

An important patron of the church was Bishop John Edmond de Courcy, along with his nephew James, 8th Baron Kingsale. They funded the construction of the Gothic style bell tower, the infirmary, the library, and one of the dormitories. De Courcy had been a friar in Timoleague before being made a bishop. The tower was added between 1510 and 1518. They also contributed to the friary's collection of plate. John de Courcy was buried in the transept of the friary, but in the Cromwellian period his grave was desecrated and his bones thrown into the estuary.

Despite the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 by Henry VIII, the friars remained in Timoleague. In 1568, the friary was seized by crown forces, and in 1577 was granted to James de Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant. Despite this, Timoleague remained an important centre for the training of the novitiate until the late 1580s. In 1590, the Protestant Bishop of Cork ordered materials to be taken from the friar's mill to be used in the construction of a new mill he was building, but the river flooded and swept away all progress on the new mill. In 1596, the friary's wooden cells were removed and were being transported by ship, but the ship sank in a storm. After the succession of James I, the friary was reclaimed by Catholics in 1603, and was repaired in its entirety by the end of 1604. During these repairs, significant changes were made to the architecture of the friary.

In 1612, Bishop Lyons came to Timoleague to disperse the friars but was repelled by an Irish force led by Daniel O'Sullivan. Though the friary had reportedly been re-edified by 1613, by the time of Donatus Mooney's visit in 1616, the friary could no longer be considered genuinely inhabited. In 1629, four years after the death of King James, Richard Boyle was named Lord Justice and instigated the closure of religious buildings across Cork, putting increasing pressure on the friary. It is assumed, however, that the friary was already largely abandoned by the Franciscans by this point, as the guardian appointed to the friary, Eugenius Fildaeus, was appointed in Limerick, in Loco refugii. By 1631 the friary had been largely plundered by Protestant settlers.

Despite these accounts, the friary was reportedly renowned for its School of Philosophy, established in 1620 and led by Owen O'Fihelly. Furthermore, in 1629 Mícheál Ó Cléirigh reportedly transcribed material from the Book of Lismore in the friary library.

The friary was eventually burnt down by crown forces in July 1642, when a force led by Lord Kinelmeaky failed to capture Timoleague Castle and instead burnt the friary and much of the town. Franciscan houses were commonly founded at trading ports, and Timoleague is no exception: the friary at one time engaged in significant trade with France, and in particular, Spain. The monks likely traded Irish agricultural goods such as hides, butter, timber, and corn in exchange for wine: an account of the burning of the friary states that: "We burnt all the towne, and their great Abbey, in which was some thousand barrels of wine." The destruction of the friary led to a significant downturn in the financial development of the town.

After the friary was burnt, local families began to bury their dead within the friary regardless of status, something which previously had only been done for prominent local families. Despite the burning of the friary, the Franciscan community of Timoleague survived for close to two centuries. In 1696 four friars were reportedly living in the ruined monastery. Though the Franciscan community dispersed by the mid-eighteenth century, individual friars remained in the area for several more decades. The last Franciscan friar working in the area was Fr Edmund Tobin (also known as Bonaventure Tobin), who died circa 1822. The Franciscans appointed titular guardians of the friary up until 1872. The last guardian of Timoleague friary was Patrick Carey. Interest in the friary was renewed during the Romantic era of the early 19th century, and many paintings and sketches of the friary exist from this period. On 15 January 1848, Fr Matt Horgan, writing under the pen-name "Viator", wrote the following which was released in the Cork Examiner:

"The walls [of the friary] are washed by the tide and some large breaches are already made in the burying ground, much to the disgrace of the lord of the soil, who must be either some heartless absentee, or a Gothic resident, having no feeling of fatherland; irrespective of its history or monuments, thinking only of bullocks, and knowing nothing, and caring less for the arts; blind to the beauties, with heart closed against the romance and poetry of the glorious past, and its mute but still eloquent memorials."

Soon after the publication of these remarks, Colonel Robert Travers, the so-called "lord of the soil", had the walls of the friary grounds replaced, and a road built between them and the sea, all at his own expense. In 1891, mass was celebrated in the friary for the first time since it was burnt down 249 years prior. One of the Timoleague chalices (the Dale-Browne Chalice) was used on the occasion. In 1892, Denham Franklin wrote that

- "The preservation of the abbey is mainly due to the care bestowed on it by the family of the present proprietor of Timoleague, Mr. Robert Travers, who did not allow the depredations unfortunately too common on our ancient buildings."

In 1920, in response to the murder of three police officers by Irish nationalists, British soldiers desecrated the friary's burial ground. Burial vaults were opened, and the flags that had been draped over the coffins within were torn and cast aside. Coffins were opened, and in some cases, human remains were left visible.

The friary has been listed as a discovery point on the Wild Atlantic Way since it was established in 2014. Irish-language writer Máire Ní Shíthe was interred in the friary in an unmarked grave in 1955. In 2016 the location of her burial was identified, and a commemorative stone placed above it.

The friary sits on a monastic site dedicated to Saint Molaga dating to either the 6th or 7th century. According to legend, this settlement was originally to be formed a mile west of Timoleague, but all work done on that site by day would fall down by morning. Interpreting this as God's will that the friary be built elsewhere, Molaga supposedly placed a blessed candle on a sheaf of corn, and set it down the Argideen River, building his settlement on the spot that it came ashore, in an area overlooking Courtmacsherry Bay. The town derives its Irish name, Teach Molaga or "Molaga's House" from the saint.

The date of foundation by the Franciscans is disputed. Documentary evidence places the foundation of the friary between 1307 and 1316, though physical evidence suggests that a preexisting 13th-century building was incorporated into the site. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the friary was founded in 1240 by the MacCarthy Reagh family. This has been identified as possibly being too early. Some sources ascribe this claimed foundation to Domhnall Got MacCarthy, while others claim that Got MacCarthy merely expanded the friary anywhere between 1312 and 1366. Domhnall's grandson, Domhnall Glas MacCarthy, is also thought to have been a patron of the friary. Samuel Lewis, in A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland... (1837) writes that the MacCarthy's founded the friary in 1312. The friary's foundation has also been attributed to the Anglo-Norman de Barry family in the early 14th century. Though the friars were well established in Timoleague by 1320, the earliest surviving parts of the ruined friary date from later in the 14th century. It is likely that they were based in Timoleague Castle prior to the construction of the friary.

By the 15th century, the friary was recognised as a centre of learning, and also as an important ecclesiastical centre. In 1460, Timoleague became one of the first houses in the Franciscan order to recognise the observantine reform. Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh, also known as "Blessed Thaddeus", is said to have been educated by the friars in Timoleague around this time. According to the Annals of Ulster, in 1505 Patrick Ó Feidhil, a famous preacher in Ireland and Scotland, was buried in the friary.

An important patron of the church was Bishop John Edmond de Courcy, along with his nephew James, 8th Baron Kingsale. They funded the construction of the Gothic style bell tower, the infirmary, the library, and one of the dormitories. De Courcy had been a friar in Timoleague before being made a bishop. The tower was added between 1510 and 1518. They also contributed to the friary's collection of plate. John de Courcy was buried in the transept of the friary, but in the Cromwellian period his grave was desecrated and his bones thrown into the estuary.

Despite the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 by Henry VIII, the friars remained in Timoleague. In 1568, the friary was seized by crown forces, and in 1577 was granted to James de Barry, 4th Viscount Buttevant. Despite this, Timoleague remained an important centre for the training of the novitiate until the late 1580s. In 1590, the Protestant Bishop of Cork ordered materials to be taken from the friar's mill to be used in the construction of a new mill he was building, but the river flooded and swept away all progress on the new mill. In 1596, the friary's wooden cells were removed and were being transported by ship, but the ship sank in a storm. After the succession of James I, the friary was reclaimed by Catholics in 1603, and was repaired in its entirety by the end of 1604. During these repairs, significant changes were made to the architecture of the friary.