Shrule Abbey

Shrule Abbey is a former monastery and National Monument located in County Mayo, Ireland.[1][2]

Shrule Abbey

Mainistir Shruthair
St Colman's Church, north of Shrule Abbey
Location within Ireland
Monastery information
Other names	Cloghvanaha, Clogvanaha
Established	5th century
Disestablished	14th century?
Diocese	Galway
People
Founder(s)	Saint Patrick, Felartus
Architecture
Status	ruined
Heritage designation	Designations National Monument of Ireland Official name Shrule Abbey Reference no. 95
Style	Celtic monastic
Site
Location	Church Park, Shrule, County Mayo
Coordinates	53.518995°N 9.090615°W
Visible remains	wall foundations
Public access	yes

Location

Shrule Abbey is located to the southwest of Shrule village, north of the Black River and south of St. Colman's Church.

History

According to tradition, Christianity was brought to Shrule by Saint Patrick himself in the 5th century AD. He founded a church at Donaghpatrick and left a disciple, Felartus, in charge. The ancient abbey of Cloghvanaha (Irish for "blessed stone") is believed to have grown from this site.

Shrule was formerly under the jurisdiction of Cong Abbey, then in 1152 it was placed under Annaghdown Abbey.[3][4] The abbey was replaced by St. Colman's Church (Teampall Cholmain) c. 1200 as the main place of worship in Shrule. Clogvanaha is mentioned in the ecclesiastical taxation of 1306.[4]

Building

Little remains of this ancient abbey: only a rectangular mound (11 × 13.4 m; 12 × 14.7 yd) with masonry rubble visible in places.[5]

References

1. "Full text of "Notes on the early history of the dioceses of Tuam, Killala and Achonry"". Archive.org.
2. "Shrule Parish History" (PDF). Shruleglencorribparish.ie. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
3. "Annals :: 400-1000 – Shrule". Shrule.com.
4. "Long Ago in Ireland". Laerencetown.com.
5. "20971 «  Excavations". Excavations.ie.