Infomatique

PRIORY OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST

December 28, 2022 by infomatique

NEWTOWN TRIM

Adjacent to the old Newtown Bridge that spans the River Boyne stands the ruins of the Priory and Hospital of St John the Baptist. The priory was founded for the ‘Crutched Friars’ (name is from the wooden staffs they carried which were topped by a cross) by Simon de Rochfort c 1202, about the same time as he founded the Cathedral and medieval parish church. The Friars were Augustinians who ran hospitals and guest houses.

The hospitals of the Crutched Friars were built similar to all Canons Regular monasteries, but with special facilities for caring for the sick. One of the buildings shows the remains of a chute disposing of waste material into the river.

Among the remains is a church with nave and chancel and a large three-light window in the east wall, see above. Part of a long two-storey building remains, as does a 15th–16th century enclosing wall with a corner turret. There is also a 15th-century three-storey tower which is vaulted above ground level and forms part of the defensive wall.

St. John’s Priory was established by Simon Rochfort, Bishop of Meath, c. 1202 for the Crutched Friars. The first record of the priory is in 1281 when there was a grant of alms from the manor of “Magathtreth.”

In 1513 Edmund Dillon was prior of this monastery; his brother Thomas Dillon was prior of Saints Peter and Paul’s at the time. Their brother Robert was granted the priory at the 1540 Dissolution of the Monasteries. At the time the priory consisted of a church, two towers, a hall, storehouse, kitchen, brewhouse, two granaries, a dovecote and a haggard (stackyard). There were 90 acres (36 ha) of arable land near the Boyne, land and a mill on the Leinster Blackwater, a castle and land at Longwood, County Meath and various other lands in the county.

He later sold it to the Ashe family. After they abandoned it, it was supposedly granted to the Catholic Bishop of Meath. After the Battle of the Boyne (1690) the building was granted to one of King William’s men. According to one story, on his first night in the holy spot he saw a “most horrid vision” and at dawn he rode away never to return.

The site was excavated by David Sweetman in 1984, who found the remains of a 15th-century rood screen and a doorway in the gable end of the nave.

MAEL SEACHNAILL MAC DOMNAILL A SCULPTURE BY JAMES McKENNA

December 28, 2022 by infomatique

CHRISTMAS 2022 IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH

This area on the banks of the River Boyne has improved since I last visited but it is still a bit untidy and the plaque has disappeared.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, also called Máel Sechnaill Mór or Máel Sechnaill II (949 – 2 September 1022), was a King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara against Olaf Cuaran in 980 resulted in Gaelic Irish control of the Kingdom of Dublin.

Máel Sechnaill belonged to the Clann Cholmáin branch of the Uí Néill dynasty. He was the grandson of Donnchad Donn, great-grandson of Flann Sinna and great-great-grandson of the first Máel Sechnaill, Máel Sechnaill mac Máele Ruanaid. The Kings of Tara or High Kings of Ireland had for centuries alternated between the various Uí Néill branches. By Máel Sechnaill’s time this alternating succession passed between Clann Cholmáin in the south and the Cenél nEógain in the north, so that he succeeded Domnall ua Néill in 980. This system had survived previous challenges by outsiders including the kings of Ulster, Munster and Leinster, and the Viking invasions.

In 980, Olav Cuarán, King of Dublin, summoned auxiliaries from Norse-ruled Scottish Isles and from Mann and attacked Meath, but was defeated by Máel Sechnaill at the Battle of Tara. Reginald, Olaf’s heir, was killed. Máel Sechnaill followed up his victory with a siege of Dublin which surrendered after three days and nights. When Maél Sechnaill took Dublin in 980, according to the Annals of Tigernach, he freed all the slaves then residing in the city.

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MAEL SEACHNAILL MAC DOMNAILL A SCULPTURE BY JAMES McKENNA 006

FR. ANDY FARRELL WAY

December 28, 2022 by infomatique

15 STATIONS OF THE CROSS IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH

It was very difficult to photograph these using a 20mm lens and also because they were high on the wall and there was also a lot of reflected light off the glass covering.

My understanding is that when Trim Castle Hotel was constructed it was necessary to replace a wall partly owned by the church so as compensation the builders undertook to provide the ’stations of the cross’ shown in my photographs.

Fr, Andy Farrell was parish priest in Trim from 1994 to 2008 and celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood in 2007. After being ordained in 1957, Fr Farrell spent five years in the USA, was then appointed a chaplain to Navan Hospital and also spent a year teaching in St Finian’s College. Fr Farrell returned to Navan where he was based for 25 years, and was subsequently appointed parish priest in Kingscourt, his last parish before moving to Trim. He died at the age of 87 on the 16th October 2018.

The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem, which is a traditional processional route symbolising the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The objective of the stations is to help the Christian faithful to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions and the stations can be found in many Western Christian churches, including those in the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions.

The early set of seven scenes was usually numbers 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 and 14 from the list below. From the late 16th century to the present, the standard complement has consisted of 14 pictures or sculptures depicting the following scenes:

(01) Jesus is condemned to death
(02) Jesus takes up his Cross
(03) Jesus falls for the first time
(04) Jesus meets his Mother
(05) Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the Cross
(06) Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
(07) Jesus falls for the second time
(08) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
(09) Jesus falls for the third time
(10) Jesus is stripped of his garments (sometimes called the “Division of Robes”)
(11) Jesus is nailed to the Cross
(12) Jesus dies on the Cross
(13) Jesus is taken down from the Cross
(14) Jesus is laid in the tomb

John Paul II urged Catholics to add a 15th station, Christ’s Resurrection, to the Stations of the Cross. The 15th Station is not required, and anyone may pray either number, or go back and forth between 14 and 15. Many parishes that have a 15th Station omit it on Good Friday.

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15 STATIONS OF THE CROSS IN TRIM COUNTY MEATH 002

THE INTERIOR OF ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH

December 28, 2022 by infomatique

TRIM COUNTY MEATH CHRISTMAS 2022

I had to limit my photography within the church as people began to arrive and I left with the intention of returning later in the day.

Saint Patrick’s is a Gothic Revival church set in landscaped grounds which sweep down from Patrick Street towards the grounds of Trim Castle. Designed by William Hague, architectural quality is apparent in the scale, form, features and materials. The combination of the rock-faced rubble limestone and ashlar dressings provide interesting textural detail. The artistic execution of the carved detailing on the exterior and the interior features, such as the mosaics, reredos and the stained glass windows, compliment and enhance this imposing church. The interior of the church is ornamented by Celtic mosaics, a white marble reredos by Pearse and Sons, side alters and communion rail by W.H. Byrne and stained glass windows depicting the crucifixion and the history of Trim.

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THE INTERIOR OF ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH 001

BECTIVE ABBEY

December 27, 2022 by infomatique

HISTORIC SITE NEAR THE TOWN OF TRIM

I moved from Dublin to Trim in county Meath for a few days this Christmas [2022].

Trim is a town in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the River Boyne and has a population of 9,194. The town is noted for Trim Castle – the largest Norman castle in Ireland. One of the two cathedrals of the United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare — St Patrick’s cathedral — is located north of the river.

Bective Abbey is a Cistercian abbey on the River Boyne in Bective, County Meath, Ireland.

The abbey was founded in 1147, and the remaining (well-preserved) structure and ruins primarily date to the 15th century. The site, including a nearby car park, were purchased by the state in 2012, and are managed by the Office of Public Works. The abbey, including its early 13th century church, 15th century cloister, and 16th century tower, is a protected structure and recorded on the register of National monuments of Ireland.

The abbey was founded in 1147 by Murchad O’Maeil-Sheachlainn, as a ‘daughter house’ of Mellifont Abbey. The abbey and its estate lands were confiscated during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s, before being rented to Thomas Asgarde, and later purchased by Andrew Wyse in 1552. Around this time the estate lands were surveyed, and recorded at 1580 acres.

The site was taken into state care, and named a protected structure and National Monument. Bective Abbey was subject to a number of excavations in the early 21st century, and made more accessible to visitors around this time.

There was a story of a golden coffin that had been buried in Bective Abbey. A local man named Andy Gossan knew of its whereabouts, passing this information on to his elderly sister, Ann, on his deathbed. She in turn told the parish priest of Kilmessan, Fr. Morrissey, who took the secret to his grave, when he died in 1927, aged 86. This story was recorded by a schoolgirl, Rosie Connell in 1938.