Religious house - Augustinian canons

The National Monuments Service's description

Augustinians: Situated on a slight E-facing slope within Mohill town, with a small N-S stream that flows down to Lough Rinn just to the E. A monastery was founded by St. Manchan in the 6th or 7th century (Anon. 1940, 43; Mac Namee 1954, 723), of which nothing survives (Pinkman 1942, 34-46). Manchan was a contemporary of St Cailin of Fenagh (LE025-096001-) and according to the Book of Fenagh would succeed Cailin at that monastery. His feast is on the 14th February, the day before the feast of St. Bearach (Barry) of Termonbarry (RO024-016001-) (Ó Riain 2011, 430). A shrine of St. Manchan was covered in gold on the orders of the High King Ruaraí O’Conor in 1166 (AFM), but it is likely that St. Manchan of Lemanaghan (OF015-004003-) is the saint (Anon 1940, 43), and that house-shaped shrine (Graves 1874) is still extant.

The Augustinian rule was introduced into the Mohill monastery early in the 12th century when the church was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and it is described as a parish church in 1470 (Mac Namee 1954, 724) and the head of the rectory of Muinter Eolais with seven churches (Scully 2019, 137). At the dissolution it was said to have held seven cartrons (townlands), and in 1590 the precinct contained a church, two stone buildings and a cemetery (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 187). In 1620 Henry Crofton acquired the rectory and 600 acres (MacCuarta 1999, 130), but he added a chapel and a tomb for himself (Logan 1971, 227-8). The foundations of a rectangular building (ext. dims 4.35m N-S by at least 3m E-W), probably the remnants of Crofton’s chapel, were in the graveyard in 1991 (SMR file) just W of the present Church of Ireland church which was built c. 1815 (Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 376), but these remains had been removed by 2019. The graveyard is a sub-rectangular area (dims c. 90m N-S; c. 30-60m E-W) defined by masonry walls, with memorials dating from 1754 to the present.

Compiled by: Michael Moore

Date of upload: 6 December 2019
Amended: 10 January 2020

References

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.

Mac Cuarta, B. (ed.) 1999 Leitrim Plantation papers. 1620-1622. Journal of Cumann Seanchas Breifne (Breifne Historical Society) 9, no. 35, 114-39.

MacNamee, Rev. J.J. 1954 History of the diocese of Ardagh. Dublin. Browne and Nolan.

Pinkman, Rev. J. 1942 Some place names in Co. Leitrim. Journal of the Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Archaeological Society 11 (8), 34-46.

Anon. 1940 Archdall on monastic foundations in the diocese of Ardagh. Journal of the Ardagh and Clonmacnoise Archaeological Society 2 (9), 33-44.

AFM - Annals of the kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the earliest period to the year 1616, ed. and trans. John O'Donovan (7 vols., Dublin, 1851; reprint New York, 1966)

Gwynn, A. and Hadcock, R.N. 1970 (Reprint 1988) Medieval religious houses of Ireland. Dublin. Irish Academic Press.

Graves, Rev. J. 1874 The church and shrine of St. Manchan. The Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland 3, 134-50.

SMR file - Sites and monuments record files in the National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Logan, P. 1970 Medieval hospital system in Breifne. Journal of Cumann Seanchas Breifne (Breifne Historical Society) 4(13), 52-8.

Ó Riain, P. 2011 A dictionary of Irish Saints. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Scully, S. 2019 Medieval parish churches in Muinter Eolais, south County Leitrim c. 1350-1600. In Kelly, L. and Scott, B. Leitrim: History and Society, 129-51. Dublin, Geography Publications