Tomb - chest tomb

The National Monuments Service's description

In Ballintubber abbey church ((MA089-058004-), at the E end of the chancel, within the N wall. 15th-century chest tomb inserted within a niche with a restored rounded arch. It is unknown which abbot of the community of Augustinian canons was buried there, though we know the names of a number of 15th-century abbots from sources. These include some colourful characters such as Thomas O’Ronain, who in 1462 was accused of malversation [corrupt use] of the property and revenues of the abbey (Twemlow 1921, 459), or Edmund de Stanton, who possessed ‘private property (…) does not reside in the said monastery, has received a certain man as a canon for a money payment (…) and, being unlearned, does not pray nor celebrate’ (Twemlow 1955, 92). The front of the tomb is comprised of two panels decorated with carvings of ogee-headed canopies framed by pinnacles. Each ogee is decorated with trefoil tracery, with a stylised flower or vine-leaf carved in its centre. The pinnacles terminate into a stylised flower or vine-leaf, and at the apex of each ogee-head are more stylised foliage. Each panel consists of two canopies, with two half-canopies on either side.

Compiled by Anne-Julie Lafaye

Date of upload: 09 January 2022