« AN TOSTAL SOUVENIR PROGRAMME 1953 - CHAPTER 10 | Main | AN TOSTAL SOUVENIR PROGRAMME 1953 - CHAPTER 12 »
March 26, 2006
AN TOSTAL SOUVENIR PROGRAMME 1953 - CHAPTER 11
Chapter 11 of the An Tostal Programme of 1953 was dedicated to the history of the Grey Abbey.THE GREY ABBEY
THE GREY ABBEY has its name from the grey habit worn by the Franciscan Friars. Lord William de Vesci built the monastery for the Friars in 1260. Later the lands of Kildare passed to John Fitzthomas and so to the Earls of Kildare.
The monastery was supported by alms and a special gratuity from the king. For many years the monks were Normans but gradually Irish aspirants were accepted. The monastery had property around the immediate vicinity and in Shanacloon. The Friars, as in every other monastery, lived a life of work and prayer.
Being specially under the protection of the Geraldines, the heads of this family had their tomb in the monastery chapel. The Earls of Kildare were buried in this tomb in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin up to the beginning of the 17th century. The monastery then ceased to exist although guardians were appointed by the Franciscans up to the year 1729.
At a Chapter of Friars Minor held in Dublin in 1717, Father Anthony Higgins, S.T.L., was elected Guardian (cf. Father Anthony Higgins, P.P., Caragh, who died 1831). Father Christopher Warren was elected Guardian in 1729.
In the early 17th century, between 1620-1635, Brother Michael O’Clery, one of the Four Masters, spent a month in the Grey Abbey collecting and copying Irish manuscripts and history.
The monastery was suppressed about 1543 and its lands and buildings and valuables confiscated and granted to Daniel Sutton. Some of their property seems to have been overlooked, for in 1589 the remainder was confiscated.
The buildings gradually fell into disrepair and by the year 1792, although a portion of the walls remained, all the architectural features were lost. Some ancient sculptured stones were taken from there for safety and inserted in the wall of the White Abbey Church where they are still to be seen. The ivy-clad walls show where the Abbey once stood.
[I’m not sure what the cf – cross reference here to Fr. Higgins of Caragh means; was it a note from one of the authors to suggest both men were related – this cf note is later used in the chapter on the parish priests but in reverse – again without explanation – Mario Corrigan]
Chapter 11 of the An Tostal Programme of 1953 was dedicated to the history of the Grey Abbey.
Posted by mariocorrigan at March 26, 2006 06:32 PM