Religious house - Augustinian nuns

The National Monuments Service's description

Situated on E facing slope of Ballynagallagh Hill with good views of the surrounding countryside. The S shoreline of Lough Gur lies 650m to the N. In 1840 the Ordnance Survey Letters recorded that 'the old church of Baile na gCailleach [town of the nuns] stood on the eastern slope of the hill of the same name. It is believed that a nunnery stood here formerly from which the place was Baile na gCailleach or Nunstown'. Mistakenly identified as a foundation dedicated to St. Catherine for the Canonesses of St. Augustine (Ware 1705, 103; Croker 1833, 103; Dowd 1896, 79). This dedication was confused with Old Abbey or St. Catherine de O'Conyl (LI019-026009-) (Dowd 1896, 186; Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 313). The nunnery at Lough Gur was referred to in historical documents as 'Ballynagallagh by Lough Gur' and was reputedly founded by the Fitzgibbon family in 1283 and dissolved around 1540-1 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 310, 313). This foundation was a daughter house of St. Peter's Cell (LI005-017046-) in Limerick City which was founded in 1171 by Donal Mór O'Brien, King of Limerick for the Black Nuns of the Order of St. Augustine (White 1943, 209). At the Dissolution of the Monasteries around 1540-1 the lands of Ballynagallagh also known as Temple na Gallagh was described as consisting of 30 acres of arable land, 1 acre of underwood that was 'lately leased for 16s. now waste by rebellion of Obrynne [O'Brien]. Ballenegallagh 60 acr. ar. and p., lately leased with the tithes for 26s. 8d., now waste for the same reason. Farm, 30s. Arrears. Edmund Sexten, the farmer 30s.' (White 1943, 209). In 1541 King Henry VIII granted a 21 year lease to Edmund Sexten [Sexton] of Limerick which included the 'the site of the house of St. Peter in Limerick, lands in Limerick, Balleneg[allaghe alias] Templenegallaghe and Ballenegallaghe by Loghgyre' (Nicholls 1994, 24).
In 1840 the Ordnance Survey Letters recorded the following about the upstanding masonry remains; ‘The old church of Baile na gCailleach stood on the eastern slope of the hill of the same name but it is now all destroyed except a fragment of the west gable measuring 14 feet [4.25m] in height and 9 feet [2.7m] in breadth and 3½ feet [0.9m] in thickness built of stones of irregular size cemented together with lime and sand mortar. All the other walls are destroyed and even their foundations are not now traceable. There is a small graveyard attached. It is believed that a nunnery stood here formerly from which the place was called Baile na gCailleach, or Nunstown’ (RIA MSS 14/D/18/17(ii)).
Only a short upstanding section of the W wall of a medieval building now survives incorporated into the W graveyard (LI032-043003-) wall of post-1700 date. On the first ed. OS 6-inch map this building is depicted as a square shaped tower standing in the NW angle of the burial ground which was later extended to the N. This medieval wall annotated as 'Church (in ruins)' may be the remains of the Augustinian Nunnery. A stoup (LI032-348----) from this church was removed to the grounds of St Patrick's R.C. Church where it was built into the stone pier of an entrance to the modern cemetery built onto the S side of the church grounds.

Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien

Date of upload: 6 July 2018

References

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

Nicholls, K.W. (ed.) 1994 The Irish fiants of the Tudor sovereigns during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Philip & Mary, and Elizabeth I, 4 vols. Dublin. Éamonn de Búrca for Edmund Burke Publisher.

OSL - Ordnance Survey Letters. Letters written by members of the Ordnance Survey's 'Topographical Department' (T. O'Conor, A. O'Curry, E. Curry, J. O'Donovan and P. O'Keeffe) sent to headquarters from the field (1834-41). MSS in Royal Irish Academy.

White, N.B. 1943 Extents of Irish monastic possessions, 1540-1541. Dublin. Irish Manuscripts Commission.

Ware, J. 1705 The antiquities and history of Ireland. Dublin. Matthew Gunne and Elipbal Dobson.

Cal. pat. rolls Ire., Eliz. - Calendar of patent and close rolls of chancery in Ireland, Elizabeth, 19 year to end of reign, ed. J. Morrin (Dublin 1862)

Croker, T.C. 1833 Druidical remains near Lough Gur,
Co. Limerick. Gentleman's Magazine (February
1833), 105–12.

Dowd, J. 1896 Round about the County of Limerick. Limerick. G. McKern & Sons.