Religious of the Parish

Franciscan Abbey & Original Village Cemetery

Franciscan Abbey

The origins of the village Abbey ruins has long been somewhat of a mystery, believed locally, in error it would now appear, to have been a Franciscan establishment, built and endowed by the Earl of Barrymore who also established an Abbey at Buttevant of the same Order. This belief was most likely based upon Samuel Lewis’ Typographical Directory of Ireland of 1837 who never visited Ireland at this time, states;

“… Near the village are found the ruins of a Franciscan abbey, founded and endowed by the Barry family: one of its towers serve as a steeple for present parish church, which, and the Roman Catholic chapel, are erected on its site; there are several detached portions of the buildings remaining, but they are rapidly falling to decay….”

Samuel Lewis was further in error when he says the Catholic Church was erected within the Abbey grounds. As a consequence of the devolution of the monasteries, all religious property became the property of the so-called Established Church. That Catholic Church stood on its own ground held in perpetuity by Thomas Forrest, built circa, 1812.

Lady Georgina Fullerton, in her essay published in the ‘Irish Monthly of 1876, concerning the new village convent, correctly comments on the unknown origins the structure. Lady Georgina being a lifelong friend of Mother Magdalen Taylor.

“Just beyond the churchyard walls is seen in the distance an ancient picturesque building, once the Catholic church of Carrigtwohill. A conventional one, tradition says, though of what order there is no clear record. It fell, of course, into the hands of the Protestants, and some of the additions which have propped up the old walls would have disfigured them but for the friendly Ivey which covers the whole building with it green mantle.”

The below OSI map clearly outlines the boundaries of the Abbey grounds, St Mary’s Church grounds, and the field bordering both. This map is not the one used for the Griffith’s Valuation of 1852 which includes the railway that did not open until 1865, as it predates the railway which is not shown. The Abbey and Church boundaries exist to this day. At some point between this map being issued and the one used for the Griffith’s town plan, the adjoining field was split in two.

The Down’s survey shows the ruins, but does not name it. Then, William Wilson (topographer.) 1786 gives a brief description of the village, but fails to mention the ruins, yet in his more detailed description of Midleton about six miles away, he fully documents the Cistercian Abbey, then in ruins, but today little sign of it exists. Charles Smith’s, The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork, 1815, gives a full description of Carrigtwohill. He too fails to mention the village ruins.

Father Joseph MacMahon, OFM, the Franciscan’s historian of Ireland’s Provincial Administration Office Dublin, recently advised us;

"Over many years of research into the history of the Irish Franciscans I have never heard of a foundation in Carrigtwohill. I’ve also consulted the sources and there is no mention whatsoever of a Franciscan foundation there. Officially, we refer to each foundation as ‘friary’ and never as ‘abbey’. The term ‘abbey’ has stuck to some only because the local people referred to them as such."

Augustinian Abbey

Our own recent research would strongly suggest the ruins were that of the Augustinian’s satellite place of worship whose head Abbey was at Ballybeg, near Mallow, which we now document.

Firsly, the Kilkenny Archaeological Society published a report in their 1852 issue where it was claimed the Dr. Smith description of Ballybeg was ‘manifestly in error’ which they corrected taken from manuscripts of the time of Abbey's establishment;

“…. For we find in Lodge’s ‘Peerage’ that David de Barry was possessed of the lordship of Buttevant at that period, and that he was not the son of William but Robert, whom he succeeded. It is true that William was the eldest son and heir of Phillip de Barry; but, being a favourite of king John, he resided in England, and is supposed to have assigned his Irish estate to his younger brother, Robert, as is thus set forth by Lodge:-

In 1229 he [Phillip de Barry] endowed the friary of Ballybegg, in the county of Cork, in memory whereof, his effigies on horseback was cast in brass set up in the church there…

He left issue two sins, William and Robert; to the eldest of whom king John confirmed his uncle’s said gift of lands by patent, dated at Woodstock, 21st February, 1208; in which king’s reign (it is said) he was one of the Recognitores Magnae Assisae for the county of Kent, and living at the Moate there, where several of his successors, who were Lieutenants of Dover Castle, and Conservators of peace in that county, had their residence. – If this be fact, he probably assigned his estate in Ireland to his younger brother, Robert de Barry, who appears to be possessed thereof by the bequest he made in honour of God, the blessed Virgin, and St. Thomas, of on Mother Church upon his land, and one carucate near his castle of Robertstown.

He had issue two sons, David, his heir, and Phillip Barry.

Then, The history of the Abbey was further documented within ‘Monasticon of Hibernicum’ by Mervyn Archdall for the Royal Irish Society, and Chaplain to the Right Hon. Francis Pierpoint, Lord Conynghan, published 1873. The items specifically relating to Carrigtwohill may be read by clicking on Monasticon of Hibernicum link.

It remains unclear if our ruins were of a church or Abbey.

The following three extracts are taken from the ‘Calendar of the Patent Rolls of the Chancery of Ireland’ for James VI of Scotland, who became King of England and Ireland in 1603 as James I.

Old Village Cemetery

The following is a extract of T Gragoe's article of Penhellick, published by the West Briton & Cornwall Advertiser, 22^nd December 1870, for the Royal Institute of Cornwall entitled “Recollections of Remarkable Burying Place”;

“Near the village of Carrigtwohill, in the county Cork, are the extensive ruins of the religious house, and close by a graveyard which no stranger ever forgot. A sea of gravestones. Surely no man ever saw so many in one place before. Some were six and seven feet high, and all venerable with age. Perhaps in England, which has been a Protestant country so long, a truly ancient place of this kind is rarely seen. This struck me forcibly at the time. These stones seemed to guard no particular space, being nearly as close together as they could stand, and at all angles. Some were upright, others were prone -- here three colossal slabs, side by side, were leaning forward in a line, whilst those in the advanced rank were sloping backward to meet them. The abbey roof and every vestige of it had long mouldered to decay, but the walls were still standing, and you might yet see, from the grim workmanship of the deep-wrought windows, that the men who built that edifice meant it to weather out all time. The tower was crowned with ivy; and, alone in the twilight, I thought I could almost fancy the monkish head of some old “Father Abbot” peering over the top”

He was very likely Thomas Adolphus Gragoe, but further research is required to confirm.

The original village cemetery is located within the boundary walls of the ruins of the Franciscan Abbey. To the north and outside the Abbey boundary is the current village cemetery. The southside abuts St Aloysius College, and Convent. This is illustrated by the photographs taken by Ollie Sheehan from the top of the Abbey tower during a recent survey.