LA TUTELA Y LA CURATELA 1 Generalidades
3. LOS NEGOCIOS JURÍDICOS
of Killeenatrave Church at entrance to Western Pride holiday homes and close to entrance to the Cuff/Knox Estate about half a mile outside town on the road to Lough Mask. It is on the banks of the Robe River.
1.5 K illosh in e C h urch
Killoshine Church is on the left side o f the Kilmaine Road and is now almost extinct. It would have been close to Lough Shine (Turlough O ’Shyen- see B ald’s M aritime M ap, fig. 8) and lies behind Dorothy Hearne’s thatched cottage.
Fig. 15. Ruin of
Killoshine Church which was located beside Lough O'Shyen see fig. 8. Just off the Galway - Kilmaine Road about one mile outside town.
1.6 St J o h n ’s H ouse.
St. John’s House, also extinct, was close to the river Robe on the Claremorris Road. It was founded b y the Knights Hospitallers, brought to Ballinrobe by the Cambro-Normans. “One o f their numbers, Stephen de Fulbum became Archbishop o f Tuam in 1286 while still K ing’s Viceroy and died in 1288.”88 Following enquiries, Fr. David Kelly OSA, Augustine Archivist very kindly shared a handwritten manuscript from 1939 by Louis W. Carr, OSA, about St. John’s House in which he states that:
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James Walsh o f Ballinrobe, died 1929, remembers “St. John’s House” standing - 200yards (roughly) from North Gable o f his - John Welsh’s - son’s house. There is an old well, still in use, beyond the house. James Walsh when building his stable found the old road from St. John’s - it let to the Convent o f Mercy Road - notice old boreen going out at Mrs. Moran’s which is a part o f the old road. The road had to make this circuit on account o f the swampy ground. He also writes that
Col Knox while alive would not let the old ruin of St. John’s be knocked - a man named Morahan then knocked it and didn’t go to Mass for 40 years. Mrs James Walsh said the house was burned down ... time and thus stood a ruin.89
Fig. 16. Copy of the Shield of the Knights
Hospitallers. The House of St. Johns is marked on the 1838 25" OSi survey map. Research on the Knights Hospitallers in the Ballinrobe area would be an interesting research project.
St. John’s was on two acres with a mill and watercourse according to Knox90 and was part o f “the old Abbey’s property which was not in existence in 1306” when the Ecclesiastical Taxation was settled. However, according to Leyden91, St. John’s had a house, a chapel and a small farm and probably served as a rest house for old and ailing members o f the Order and c 1580 a quarter (120 acres) o f land. This passed to the Augustinian Friars in 1529 - hence the name Friars Quarter.
1.7 T em pall na L ecca
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The Church ruins are located on the mainland beside the River Robe within its walled graveyard. Access is through Mr. J. Sheridan’s land.
89 D avid K elly O S A o f th e A ugustin ian A rch iv e, D u blin kin d ly g a v e m e a c o p y o f and perm ission for Louis W. Carr's obseiyations on St. Jo h n ‘s House written in 1939 to b e inclu ded.
90 K nox, H. H ., The Parish o f Ballinrobe, U npu blished M anuscript, N L 1 2 0 6 1 , p. 22 . 91 L eyden, J. J., ‘B allinrobe A b b ey ’ in The Bridge Magazine, Easter 1966, p. 29
92 Fas, An Archaeological Survey o f Ballinrobe and District including Lough M ask and Lough Carra, L ou gh M ask L ough Carra T ourist D ev elo p m en t A sso cia tio n , 1994, p. 86.
Fig. 17. Tempall na Lecca on the banks of the river Robe (see arrow) near Cushlough is enclosed by its own cut stone wall which contains a graveyard.
The Church itself is in very bad condition and has been allowed to become completely overgrown and contains a very large tree within the Church itself which is damaging the remains of this beautiful little Church. The lack of care and maintenance is clearly obvious within its walls. The outside of the
Fig. 18. Innish Robe Island at mouth of Robe River as It joins Lough Mask. Ruins of St. Columbcille's Church can be found on at south of the island, see map appendix 6. © Permission of the NLI, Dublin.
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1.8 St. C olu m b cille’s C hurch on Inish R obe Island.
This small ruin located on Innish [Inish] Robe is mentioned in an extract from the Ordnance
Survey Letters o f 1838 by John O ’Donovan,93 where he comments that:
A.D. 1195 Cathal, the son ofDermot (O ’Connor) marched from Munster into Connaught, and passed victoriously through the province until he arrived at Lough Mask and Inis Rodhba where he seized upon all vessels (boats/) o f Charles the Redhanded O ’Connor and brought them to Caislean na Caillighe [Castle Hag] where...
1.9 T he A u gustin ian A b b ey.
There can be little confusion about the name o f the Augustinian Abbey on Abbey Street, within the town boundaries o f Ballinrobe, which is in good condition following conservation work which Fas, completed on the site in 199494. Friars were in occupation in 1574 and again after the rebellion o f 164195
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Office Carlisle. D/AY5/13/vlii. Rees's Cydoaedia, or The New Cyclopaedia, or, Universal Dictionary o f the Arts and Sciences was edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743-1825). It appeared in parts between January
1802 and AuQUSt 1820, and ran to 39 volumes of text, 5 volumes of Dlates. and an atlas.
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n O ’Flanagan, R ev. M ., Extracts fro m the Ordnance Sw yey Letters 1838, O ’D o n o v a n , B ray, 192 7 , p.79. 94 M u lloy, B ., The Restoration o f the Ballinrobe Priory (Abbey), Fas, B allinrobe, 19 9 4 , pp 1-8.
Fig. 20. James Arthur O'Connor's 1820 painting of the back of Kenny's Mill (the Kenny Family commissioned the
painting) with the ruin of the Augustinian Abbey on the left beside the River Robe. Notice the Steeple of St. Mary's Church of Ireland at centre on top of the hill. ©Permission of the National Library of Ireland, Dublin
Fig. 21. Photo of South doorway to the
Augustinian Abbey provided by Mr. Pat Bergan of Fas. There is a large window at the east end with some doorways and a piscina on the right hand wall. A new housing estate recently built surrounds this ancient site on two sides with a roadway on the third. And private home on fourth. It appears that no archaeological survey was completed prior to building and results from any monitoring during constructions was either not carried out, are not or presently available at MCC or published for future researchers.