Niall C.E.J. O’Brien
The
Franciscan Friary at Timoleague, in West Cork, stands on a promontory
overlooking the estuary and the sea beyond. It was founded in the thirteenth
century but it was no fresh foundation but only the latest expression of
religious faith on the shores of the southern sea. In the mid seventh century a
travelling monk called St. Molagga arrived in Timoleague. He was born at
Athacross Molaga near Kildorrery.[1] In
his youth St. Molaga left Ireland to learn Christianity in Scotland and in
Wales under St. David before returning to Ireland to study at Clonmacnoise. St.
Molagga went on to found several monasteries. He was named as abbot of
Timoleague and abbot of Tulach-min.[2] The
saint’s feast day of 20th January was the occasion of a patten and
fair day known as St. Molaga’s Fair.[3] A
holy well, called Lady’s Well, exists at Lettercolm, about a half mile west of
Timoleague.[4]
In 1164 the coarb of Mo-Laca was slain.[5]
The circumstances as to why he was killed are unknown. In the same year the
coarb of Emily and his son were also killed.[6] Unfortunately
Timoleague parish is not included in the 12th century list of
landowners of Corcu Loidge which instead records material from the middle and
western portions of the Diocese of Ross.[7]
Timoleague parish and the Diocese of Ross
Timoleague
formed a parish within the diocese of Ross in medieval times. The bishop of
Rosailithir (later shorten to Ross and also known as Ross Carbery) is not
mentioned at the synod of Rathbreasail (1111), or Kells (1152). Instead the
bishop is first mentioned in 1152 among the suffragan bishops of Cashel. To be
a suffragan bishop in 1152 means that the bishop was active before that date
but how far back in time is unclear. A number of abbots and erenaghs of Ross
are mentioned between 824 and 1096. In 1085 Neachtain died as bishop of
Rossailithre. In 1172 Benedict was bishop of Ross and was succeeded by many
others until the 16th century.[8]
In
1177 Milo de Cogan received a grant of half of Desmond from the English king
which included much of the coastline west of Cork city. Later de Cogan granted
the area around Rynnanhlan (Courtmacsherry) to Geoffrey Fitz Odo, ancestor of
the Hodnett family, written in Irish as MacSeathraigh (MacSherry). Geoffrey
Fitz Odo or Milo de Cogan (sources differ), then granted the area around
Timoleague to Henry le Botiller (Butler) and his son John Butler. David de
Barry married Henry Butler’s daughter and received Timoleague as a marriage
portion.[9]
Between 1224 and 1253 Florence, Bishop of Ross, quitclaimed to David de Barry
the towns and estates of Tatmelage (Timoleague), Rathynunchy (Courtmacsherry),
Munisege, and Killude along with other unnamed places. All these places were
originally owned by the Bishop of Ross before the grant to Milo de Cogan. In
1355 the de Barrys held the manor of Timoleague and Courtmacsherry from the
Bishop of Ross.[10]
When the dioceses were formed between 1111 and 1152 the newly elevated diocesan
bishops acquired or seized the property of old monasteries that had ceased to
function or had fallen on hard times. By such means an early Bishop of Ross
would have acquired the property of the old monastery of St. Molaga at
Timoleague.
Franciscan Friary founders: Barry or MacCarthy
The
documentary sources differ on when (1240 to 1370s), and by whom, the Franciscan
Friary at Timoleague was founded.[11] This
is understandable when the Bishop of Ross had a claim to Timoleague as did the
family of David de Barry. Into this mix came the MacCarthy family after the 1250s
as they fought back against the Normans to recover the kingdom of Desmond
(Counties Cork and Kerry along with part of west Limerick). One of their
ancestors was Cormac MacCarthy, founder of Cormac’s chapel on the Rock of
Cashel in the early 12th century. The MacCarthys were also
conquering Irish territory as in 1232 they became lords of Carbery after
defeating the O’Mahony family.[12] The
Franciscan Order was a mendicant, living off gifts and donations than having
their own estates. The Athenry Franciscan Friary book of donations shows many
different people funding different buildings within the friary and features
like installing new windows.[13] Each
of these donors could be regarded as founders of the friary.
One
source says the Timoleague Friary was founded in 1240 by MacCarthy Riabach.[14] This
is possibly based on an entry in the Annals of the Four Masters to that affect.[15] Another
observer says this foundation was originally a secular church and that the
Franciscans didn’t occupy the church until a later date. The suggested friary
founder was Margaret de Courcy, wife of William de Barry. He died in 1373 and
Margaret is said to have founded the friary to remember her husband.[16] She
died in 1375 and was remembered in a lost book belonging to the Friary.[17]
A
tomb of one of the Barons de Courcy lies in the choir along with those of many
other different noblemen. A manuscript in the British Museum says it was
William de Barry, Lord of Ibaun, founded the friary before he died in 1373. Yet
the same manuscript also gives the foundation to the MacCarthy Reagh.[18]
Luke Wadding considered MacCarthy Reagh to be the founder as his tomb was in
the centre of the choir and the Barry tomb was somewhere else in the church.[19] The
Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae,
from which Wadding got his information, gives the foundation to Lord William
James Barry in 1240 but as noted that others give MacCarthy Reagh the founder and
strengthen their argument by highlighting that his tomb was located in the
centre of the choir.[20]
The Brevis Synopsis was written by
Fr. Francis Matthews in the 1620s as a brief history of the Irish Franciscan
Province.[21]
Another
author though that the site of the friary was originally a castle belonging to
the Moril family. Later the MacCarthys took over the castle and gave it to the
Franciscans to establish a friary.[22] A
number of other Franciscan friaries were founded at sites which were previously
a castle, or proposed castle site, such as at Youghal.[23]
The unfinished castle at Quin was given over to the Franciscans.[24] The
Timoleague author may not have been totally off the rails therefore. It is
recorded in 1219 that Diarmait, son of Domnall MacCarthaig captured a castle at
Tech Mo-Laga belonging to Henry Butler and took hostages.[25]
At some unknown date David de Barry married Anabel daughter of Henry le
Botiller and received the lordship of Timoleague and the half cantred of Uí Badhamhna (Ibawn) with its castle as
a marriage portion.[26]
Sir
James Ware though that the original friary was at Cregan in Ibaun alias Ibawn (otherwise
written as Uí Badamna) and that the
friars only moved in 1279 to Timoleague. Ware was referencing a manuscript by
Donald O Fibely (fl. Sec. xv. ex) which said that Dermot Fuscus died and was
firstly buried in the new monastery of Cregan. Later in 1279 was translated to
Teathmolagiam (Timoleague). Ware though it was the friars who were translated
but rather it was the body of Dermot and the original source does not described
Timoleague as a monastery.[27] Local
folklore also scribes to the friary moving from an original location to a new
site above the River Arigideen at Timoleague.[28] Moving
monasteries is not far from possible in the Diocese of Ross context. The
Cistercian abbey of Fons Vivus (also
called Maure Abbey) was originally built at Aghamanister in about 1172 and
moved before 1278 to a new site two miles away at Crecan in Uí Badamna. In 1278
Diarmait MacCarthy, son of Domnall Cairbreach, was buried in the new Cistercian
abbey.[29]
Elsewhere
James Ware changed his mind and said the friary was founded in the reign of
Edward II (1307-1327) by William de Barry while at the same time acknowledging
that MacCarthy also had a foundation claim.[30]
Dr. Cochrane took up the 1279 date and said that William de Barry founded the
friary in that year. But the same author also gave a second opinion that in
1312 the friary was founded by MacCarthy.[31]
Cathedral and Friary architecture
The
confusion about when Timoleague friary was founded is not just in the documents
but is also reflected in the architecture. The choir and adjacent part of the
nave have thick walls with mural passages within. The upper mural passages are
interrupted by large two storey round headed arches known as a ‘giant order’
arch. These arches had a Classical origin and were adopted in European Romanesque
buildings and early Gothic buildings. The now demolished Waterford Cathedral
had examples of these giant order arches. The thick walls with mural passages
are similar to that in the two Dublin cathedrals and the cathedral at Newtown
Trim. These architectural features suggest a building that was built early in
the 1200s rather than late. It also points to a pre-Franciscan use for the
building.[32]
Samuel Lewis, in his 1837 Topographical
Dictionary of Ireland, also said that the high mural passage reflected that
found in English cathedrals.[33]
In the years around 1213 Daniel, an Englishman or Anglo-Norman, was bishop of
Ross.[34] He
may have imported this English cathedral feature to Timoleague.
The
architecture seems to suggest that an early 13th century Bishop of
Ross had designs to build, or convert an existing church, at Timoleague into a
cathedral church. The new church was built with at least four large round
headed windows on the south side and at least five on the north side as well as
a large round headed east window. The three lancet windows on the present east
gable are a later insert. The church took on the area of the later choir and
one bay west of the later tower. After the Franciscans took over the nave was
extended to its present length. The guest house on the west side of the friar’s
cloister has roof gutters throwing water onto the church wall. This is
something the builders would not have done unless the nave was shorter and the
church didn’t extend as far west as the guest house. the alignment of the guest
house was originally east-west but was changed to north-south when the cloister
was built.
The
new church (cathedral?) was constructed around an existing church, or beside
one, as it is not built on an east-west alignment. Early churches up to the 10th
century were aligned north-east to south-west and after the 10th
century new churches were built on the east-west axis. Old churches and
cathedrals, such as at Westminster Abbey and Winchester cathedral, were often
knocked down and rebuilt on the new east-west fashion. In the early 13th
century Timoleague church should have been built on the east-west alignment but
was instead constructed north-east to south-west. The later friary complex
continued with the north-east to south-west alignment.
The
layout of Timoleague friary is slightly different to other Franciscan friaries.
At most friaries the chapter house and refectory form two sides of the cloister
but at Timoleague the chapter house and the refectory are both on the east side
with the refectory abutting the chapter house on its north side. Moyne and Ross
Errily are the only known friaries with a similar layout of the cloister to
Timoleague. Yet at both of these places the refectory forms part of an outer
courtyard. There doesn’t appear to be any evidence of an outer courtyard at
Timoleague.[35]
In
the fifteenth century the ‘giant order’ arch in the thirteenth century north
wall of the chancel was blocked up. Inserted into the base of the arch was a
recessed tomb. The gap of over a hundred years between the construction of the
thirteenth century chancel arch and the fifteenth century tomb was a relatively
long difference in time.[36]
It would appear that the blocking of the arch and the insertion of the tomb
were contemporary but there could have been the lapse of a few years between
both events. The recessed tomb also functioned as an Easter Sepulchre where the
host was stored, possibly in a wooden box or chest, between Maundy Thursday and
Easter Sunday.[37]
A short calculation makes about sixteen different building phases at Timoleague
friary with at least six in the choir/nave area and many different building
phases around the complex.
Folklore
says that the Franciscans of Timoleague established a hospital for leprosy at
Spittle, two miles south of the Friary. Each day a friar would visit the
hospital to offer prayers and comfort to the sick.[38]
Bishop of Ross as founder of Timoleague Friary
The
Diocese of Ross is not a coterminous diocese and so having more than one
cathedral could better aid the management of the diocese. Later it was found
that the diocese was too poor to support two cathedrals and therefore retained
the cathedral at Ross (Ross Carbery) and disposed of the Timoleague building to
the Franciscan Order. As in the time in the late 16th century, when
Bishop de Courcy commissioned the tower, dormitory, refectory and library, he
was aided by James de Courcy, Baron Kingsale. Thus an earlier Bishop of Ross
could have established the Franciscans at Timoleague and was aided in funding
the extra building work required by a local lord, be it a Barry or a MacCarthy,
and this local lord was then regarded as the founder of the friary.
In
this regard there is an interesting event in 1265. In that year Bishop Maurice
of Ross requested to resign his bishopric and became a Franciscan friar. His
reasons were that he had poorly administrated the diocese and caused
unspecified misdeeds.[39] Is
there some Timoleague Friary foundation connection with Bishop Maurice? In
about June 1269 the dean and chapter of Ross informed the king (Henry III) that
Maurice had resigned as bishop and they sought a licence to elect a new bishop.
By September 1269 the dean and chapter had elected Brother Walter Omychien of
the Franciscan Order as the new Bishop of Ross which action received the royal
assent.[40]
Thus we have Bishop Maurice favourable to the Franciscans and his successor was
a Franciscan. Establishing Timoleague Friary would be a good project for either
man. By February 1275 Bishop Walter was dead and the cathedral chapter elected
Brother Peter Ohullcean of the Cistercian Order as the new Bishop of Ross.[41]
Franciscan Friary in operation
A
manuscript written in about 1325 said that Timoleague friary had thirty friars
at that time and this was the same as in 1316. The manuscript listed Irish
friaries active in 1325 for the general chapter of the Franciscan order which
was meeting at Lyons.[42]
Canice Mooney took up this manuscript and gave a foundation date between 1307
and 1316.[43]
Gwynn and Hadcock concluded that as Timoleague was a friary for both Irish and
Anglo-Irish friars then Donal Glas MacCarthy and William de Barry were
co-founders.[44]
In 1366 Donal Glas MacCarthy, prince of Carbery, was buried in the friary.[45]
In
1299 the port and market town of Timoleague was mention in a list of market
towns that existed in the Anglo-Norman controlled part of present County Cork. By
that time Timoleague was at the western edge of the Norman area the bounds of
which had retreated eastwards from the mid 13th century.[46] Timoleague
port is said to have conducted a good trade with Spain; exporting butter and
hides while importing wine.[47] It
is said that the friars didn’t take well to the drinking sailors from Spain and
prayed for the trade to end thus the river began to silted up and foreign trade
declined.[48]
In
the papal taxation roll of 1302-6 Timoleague church (Thamolagi) in the deanery
of Obathumpna, was valued at 40s. The cathedral church at Ross was valued at 3
marks or just shy of 40s. This doesn’t mean that the Franciscan Friary at Timoleague
was wealthy. Rather that the church and parish of Timoleague was worth more
than most parishes in the Diocese of Ross. Lislea parish was worth 3½ marks and
the highest value parish in the deanery of Obathumpna. The Cistercian abbey of Fonte Vivus was worth 6 marks.[49]
Observant Movement
In
the early years of the fourteenth century a movement developed in Italy for a
return by the Franciscan Order to a stricter observance of the ideas of St.
Francis. In 1430 this movement was approved by the general chapter at Assisi as
the Observant Reform. Those friars who wished to maintain the existing
Franciscan rule were called the Conventuals. Both groups continued to exist
within the Franciscan Order until 1517 by which time the tensions within were
too great and Pope Leo X created two distinct Orders.[50] The
first Observant house in Ireland occurred in 1433 with the new foundation at
Quin in Co. Clare.[51] In
1460 Timoleague friary adopted the Observant reform under the direction of Lord
de Barry.[52]
Timoleague was joined in the Observant movement by other local friaries at
Kilcrea and Sherkin.[53] The
south transept and south aisle may have been constructed at this time to
facilitate the new Observant Order. The patron of this work could have been
MacCarthy Reagh who was living at Kilbrittain Castle a few miles to the east of
Timoleague but we have as yet no documentary proof of this. If this was the
case, then MacCarthy Reagh could have assumed the style of a founder of the
Franciscan Friary or more a new founder of the new friary.
In
general terms the Conventual friars were located in the English areas of
Ireland while the Observant friars lived in Gaelic areas. From 1460 to 1517 the
Irish Franciscan province had a Conventual friar as minister provincial and an
Observant friar as the vicar provincial.[54] In
1494 and again in 1530 provincial chapters of the Franciscan Order was held at
Timoleague Friary. Further provincial chapters were held in 1536 and 1563 at
Timoleague.[55]
The Franciscan Observant reform was not confined to that order. The Augustinian
and Dominican Orders had their own independent reform movements in the 15th
and 16th centuries.[56]
Timoleague parish
Separate
from the Franciscan Friary was the parish of Timoleague and its church. It is
not clear where the parish church was located. In 1486 it was said that Odo
Ohega (O’Hea) held the rectory of Timoleague (worth 12 marks) for a number of
years. Timoleague was spelt variously as Thimolacgy, Innayraidh and
Tempulmicylayn. Philip Yhillygh (O’Herlihy?), vicar of Cruary (worth 9 marks)
petitioned the pope to united the vicarage of Dysert (worth 3 marks), which was
held by Thomas Ohedyrsgol (O’Driscoll), dean of Ross, for several years, with
Cruary as the Dysert church was ‘ruinous in roof and walls’ and the Dysert
people often went to Cruary church to hear mass for about twenty years. The
pope appointed the chancellor and two canons of Ross to united all three
benefices to Philip for his life if it was shown that he had a good claim to
them.[57]
At
about the same time John Oharth alias Odvnnyhn (O’Donovan) held the vicarage of
Theachmolaghe (Timoleague) with the vicarage of Naepryg (Aghamanister) for
several years according to a petition of 1491 with a combined value of 12 marks.
Thady Abairain petitioned for the two vicarages along with the rectory of
Carbery (held by Donald Ohega) to hold for life. Three canons of Ross cathedral
were appointed to judge the petition. The papal letter was said that Carbery
rectory was under lay patronage but didn’t say who the patron of Timoleague was.[58] In
1493 John Odunyhyn (O’Donovan) still held the vicarages of Teachmolage
(Timoleague) and Nayra (Aghamanister) with a combined value of 14 marks. In
March 1493 Thady Ymayrayn petitioned Rome for the two vicarages to be united
with Cruari rectory aliis Cruary (detained by Donal Ohacga aliis O’Hea). A
canon of Cork cathedral was asked to judge the matter the results of which are
unknown.[59]
The
relationship between the parish church and the friary was not always without
difficulties. As the Franciscan Order became more clerical tensions with parish
clergy surfaced over permission to preach, right of burial in friary grounds,
and friars hearing confession among other issues.[60]
In 1493 Timoleague Friary was mentioned among other Franciscan convents in the
dioceses of Cork, Cloyne, Ardfert and other dioceses in the province of Cashel.
By ancient custom a certain part of the goods of the deceased must be given to
the local bishop and parish church of the parish the deceased person usually
lived in when alive. But the guardians of the various Franciscan convents said
they were exempt from such charge when people were buried in their graveyards
after the convent in question gave a fourth part of the funeral fees to the
local parish church. It was said by petition to the pope by David, Archbishop
of Cashel, and a number of his suffragan bishops, that the Franciscans were
advertising this so-called opt out clause to the people. As in any age people
usually have something against paying taxes and charges thus the Franciscans
were encouraging the people to be buried in their grounds and avoid church
taxes. This was to the economic damage of the parish churches according to the
petitioners. The pope appointed the abbot of Abbeydorney along with the
precentor of Ardfert and a canon of that cathedral to summon the guardians of
the various convents, including Timoleague to a meeting; to hear both sides and
issue a just judgement without right of appeal.[61]
Franciscan Bishops of Ross
In
the 1490s Edmond de Courcy, a Franciscan from the Diocese of Ross and doctor of
divinity, was bishop of Clogher and Ross at the same time. In 1485 Edmund de
Courcy arrived in Ireland from Rome with a claim to be the bishop-elect of
Clogher but his letters from Rome didn’t arrive. In July 1488 Edmund de Courcy
was appointed papal nuncio and collector in Ireland. At a provincial council in
July 1489 Edmund was recognised as Bishop of Clogher. Bishop Edmund then
appeared to have travelled to England or Rome for a few years. In September 1494
he reappears in the records on becoming Bishop of Ross. It seems that Bishop
Edmund held the Cistercian Abbey of Fonte
Vivus with the Diocese of Ross. Although James MacMahon challenged Bishop
Edmund for Clogher, the latter held both dioceses for at leat the following six
years. In 1502 Bishop Edmund resigned the diocese of Clogher.[62]
Bishop Edmund is accredited with commissioning the tower at Timoleague Friary.
He also funded the building of the dormitory, infirmary and library. James de
Courcy, Baron of Kinsale, is also accredited with helping in this construction
work.[63] James
de Courcy was his nephew. The tradition de Courcy lands extended from Kinsale
to Timoleague.[64]
The tower is about 76 feet tall and, although considered roughly built, looks
impressive when view from the water. After Bishop Edmund’s work the friary had
two dormitories; one over the refectory and another over the kitchen. It is not
clear which one was funded by Bishop Edmund. The new library was said to be one
the first floor of the north range.[65] On
14th March 1518 Bishop Edmund died and was buried in Timoleague
Friary.[66]
Edmund
Courcy, Bishop of Ross, was known for his affection and clemency towards the
poor. The sanctity of his life was famous.[67]
In 1504 Alan Patrick O’Fihely, O.F.M., died and was buried at Timoleague. He
was well known for his learning according to James Ware.[68]
On
19th January 1519 John O’Hurley, bishop of Ross, died and was buried
at Timoleague Friary.[69]
He was originally a Cistercian monk at Fonte
Vivus (Abbeymahon) and later abbot there before becoming Bishop of Ross in
1512. At some time John O’Hurley took the Franciscan habit and thus elected to
be buried at Timoleague.[70]
Folklore says that John O’Hurley was a relation of Edmond de Courcy, Bishop of
Ross, and succeeded the latter when he retired on account of old age. The
document of resignation was witnessed by Cornelius Cahalane, Guardian of
Timoleague Friary and Lady Eleanor MacCarthy of Kilbrittain Castle.[71] Lady
Eleanor was a daughter of Gerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, and wife of
Donal MacCarthy Reagh.[72] In
December 1519 Pope Leo X provided Thady O’Reilly, Bishop of Dromore (bishop
since 1511), to the vacant see of Ross with permission to unite the two
dioceses along with holding the abbey of Assaroe for his lifetime. Bishop
O’Reilly struggled to manage the two dioceses at opposite ends of the country.
In June 1526 he died and a new bishop was provided to Ross while Dromore was
left vacant for ten years.[73]
Timoleague avoids suppression in 1540
In
1536 a provincial chapter was held at Timoleague Friary in a period of great
change and uncertainty.[74] In
1536 the Irish Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which recognised King
Henry VIII as head of the church. The Suppression Bill moved more slowly
through parliament and it was only passed in October 1537. Franciscan convents
in the English area of influence fell as part of the general suppression of the
monasteries.[75]
Convents and abbeys in the Gaelic areas were generally left open and were not
suppressed for many decades with exceptions. Locally in the Diocese of Ross the
Benedictine priory at Ross and the Cistercian abbey at Fonte Vivus were suppressed.[76] Although
the friars remained in Timoleague Friary after the suppression of the
monasteries, their stay there was not totally secure. In 1568 James Barry, Viscount
Barrymore, applied to the government for a lease of 21 years on the former
abbeys of Omaughan and Corr in County Cork. Queen Elizabeth granted the lease
subject to the government repossessing if needed. If such happened then
Viscount Barrymore could have one monastery from a list of four, namely:
Ballybeg, Buttevant, Castlelyons and Timoleague.[77] All
these monasteries were located in traditional Barry estates or were strongly
supported by the family in medieval times. In 1582 Viscount Barrymore died in
Dublin Castle after supporting the rebellion of the Earl of Desmond. His lease
of Timoleague passed to Thomas Wye and later on to Thomas Chapman.[78]
In
1587 Dom Eugene Eganus, a doctor of theology, was mortally wounded by the
heretics when Apostolic Vicar of the Diocese of Ross. Eugene Eganus was also
head of Timoleague friary. He was succeeded as head of the friary by Dom John
Donald McCarthy.[79]
Folklore says that Bishop Owen MacEgan was buried in 1602 at Timoleague Friary
at night time but that a supernatural bright light lit up the scene of burial
in the north-west angle of the cloister.[80] Other
sources say that Owen McEgan had gone to Rome and Spain in early 1602 and
pleaded with O’Sullivan Beara to hold out at Dunboy Castle for help but the
castle fell before McEgan returned. Bishop McEgan then tried to raise a rebel
force but was defeated at Cladagh, near Enniskeane, where he was killed and
afterwards buried at Timoleague in the north-west corner of the cloister.[81]
The friary complex partially dismantled
In
1595 Moriartum O’Hea, guardian of Timoleague, died and was buried in the
Friary.[82] In
1596 the Protestant Bishop of Cork, William Lyons, is said to have sent a
vessel to Timoleague to procure timber for his new house in Cork. On arriving
in the port the captain learnt that the friars cells in Timoleague Friary were
still wainscoted with oak and judging that to be a faster way to load his
vessel, the captain took the oak panelling. But when the vessel was only a short
distance out in the sea a gale arose and the vessel sank with its cargo.[83] This
story appears to be an assembly of two different stories relating to Timoleague
Friary. The first story says that in 1590 the then Protestant Bishop of Cork
had plans to build a new corn mill near Cork and sent a team to Timoleague to
dismantle the friars corn mill there and return with the timber for his new
mill. But the river (at Cork or Timoleague is not clear) came into flood and
washed away the mill.[84] This
story and the following story were taken from Brussels MS. 3947 written before
November 1617 by Fr. Donatus Mooney at the Irish Franciscan College of St.
Antony in Louvain.[85]
The
second story relates to 1596 when Dr. Hamer came to Timoleague and removed the
wooden panels in the dormitory cells and loaded them aboard a vessel to take
them to an unspecified location. But a storm came up and the vessel sank.[86]
At the age of 38 Dr. Meredith Hanmer became Archdeacon of Ross and vicar of
Timoleague. Later in 1598 he became Warden of Youghal College before moving in
1603 to Kilkenny.
After
the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 the whole countryside fell into confusion and
fear. In 1602 Carew passed through Timoleague (where he hanged three rebels) on
his way to fight O’Sullivan Beara. In May 1602 Dermot Maol MacCarthy, chief of
the Carbery rebels, was killed. Afterwards he was buried at Timoleague with
great ceremony.[87]
Timoleague friary repaired
In
1604 Timoleague Friary was repaired.[88] It
is often said that Timoleague Friary was protected after the Reformation by the
MacCarthy family.[89] In
1607 Sir John Fitzedmond Fitzgerald of Cloyne had a lease of the rebuilt friary
possibly under Barry protection.[90] In
1600 David Barry, 2nd Viscount Buttevant (1559 creation), was said
to directly own 392 ploughlands in Co. Cork and had the letting of three parts
of every freeholder within his manors which amounted to about 1,000
ploughlands. In Ibawn David Barry held 300 ploughlands across the three manors
of Timologe (Timoleague), Rathbarry and Lislie.[91] In
1607 Viscount Buttevant secured a yearly fair at Timoleague for two days at
Midsummer Day, called St. John the Baptist day.[92] In
1618 Viscount Buttevant had all his estates in County Cork restored, including
Tymolagge (Timoleague), Rathbarry, Inishonan and Ibawn following questions
about his true ownership verses other Barry claimants.[93]
In
1612 an English force approached the friary with the desire for plunder and
possibly prevent its use by any invading force from the sea. But a much smaller
Irish force led by Daniel O’Sullivan repulsed the attackers.[94] Despite
this victory it seems that Timoleague friary was not in good shape. It didn’t
attend the general chapter held in 1612 and was not named among the eight
convents governed by a guardian.[95] In
the years 1611-14 Timoleague friary was rebuilt and mass was once again said
within contrary to the law.[96] In
1613 Timoleague, Kilcrea and Buttevant were named among a number of former
monasteries that were re-occupied by friars, publically preaching and saying
mass.[97]
Timoleague Franciscan library
At
this point it may be worth highlighting an extract from a book of the friars
minor of Timoleague at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Among a bundle of
manuscripts in the Rawlinson collection (Rawlinson Class B 479, fo. 119v) in
the Bodleian is an extract, on one page, from what was described as the Liber
fratrum Minorum de Timoleague.[98] The
date of this Timoleague book is not given or the material in the citation. The
entry just before the Timoleague citation is a grant of knighthood dated to
August 1616 but manuscript B. 479 with its 120 folios contains a range of Irish
civil and ecclesiastical material from 1035 to its compilation in 1644.
Although Sir James Ware started B. 479 at Oxford in 1644 he could have made the
extraction from the Timoleague Friary book many years before then.[99]
A
friary is a general term used in English to describe a place where friars live
either as a convent or residence. A convent was the part of the friary where
the friars actually lived but was also used to describe a house that had six or
more friars. A residence was a house with less than six friars or a place with
friars but was not recognised by the local bishop as a full foundation.[100]
The friary in early 17th century
In
1616 Fr. Mooney, the provincial, visited Timoleague on his circuit of Munster
and said that although the buildings were standing they were in needed of
repair.[101]
In 1618 the guardian of Timoleague friary, Owen Field, ruled the Irish Province
admirably for three years.[102]
Fr. Eugene Feildeus, a lector in philosophy and theology at Salamanca who was
celebrated for the conversion of heretics and the salvation of souls, was
associated with Timoleague friary.[103] In
1615 he was appointed guardian of Timoleague.[104] In
1624 Friar Florence McDonnell MacCarthy was the guardian of Timoleague Friary
as well as being superior of all the Franciscans in Munster. In October 1624
Sir Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, alleged that Friar Florence was
then in England but intended to secretly come to west Cork and raise a rebel
force. This force was then to await an Irish and Spanish force from the Low
Countries led by the Count of Beerhaven. Lord Cork produced a letter from Friar
Florence to him expressing the Friar’s desire to uphold the king and keep peace
in west Cork. Lord Cork also had two letters written from Spain in July 1624
from Friar Cornelius Driscoll to Friar Florence. Friar Cornelius told his
superior that he had finished his studies and awaits going to Ireland to preach
but is stopped by news of invasion. Friar Cornelius tells how the Count of
Beerhaven desires to invade Ireland with part of a Spanish army of 120,000 men
stationed in the Low Countries. In November Lord Carew told the Duke of
Buckingham to arrest Friar Florence who was then in London, less he should slip
into Ireland and cause unrest. Lord Carew said that Friar Florence was
anti-government in the last rebellion.[105]
In
1628 government agents intercepted a letter from a person called Tuoam in Spain
to his sister, Grainne Ny Nowen Field near Timoleague. The sister was to give
an enclosed letter to Ungenio Field, a Franciscan friar in Timoleague Friary.
The enclosed letter thanked Friar Ungenio for providing previous intelligence
on who among the gentry would support an uprising. The author told Friar
Ungenio to prepare the country as the Irish earls in Spain had secured an
armada to be sent to Ireland. Friar Ungenio was to get Sir Richard Boyle to
support the uprising as he was a great person in Ireland and had previous
expressed support for the Catholic cause.[106] This
Ungenio Field was Owen Field, the guardian of Timoleague, and in 1630 he was
imprisoned for this letter.[107] Clearly
Friar Ungenio was not much good a spy work as in the 1641 Rebellion Lord Cork
proved to be the strongest Protestant supporter in Ireland. These government
letters present the fear that Franciscan friars in Ireland and Europe will aid
an uprising in Ireland or a foreign invasion. It is likely that some Franciscan
friars had such desires but to what extent is difficult to tell in the mist of
plots and counter plots, real or imagined. Fr. Owen Field was guardian again in
1659-61 and died in 1668 when he was buried at Timoleague.[108]
In
the mid 1620s Timoleague friary provided education for students of philosophy.[109] Friar
Cornelius O’Driscoll, a student in Spain in 1623, was possibly a one time
student from Timoleague.[110] In
1626 Bartholomew Barron, a nephew of Fr. Luke Wadding, was at Timoleague Friary
for his education, studying philosophy under Fr. Owen Field. In October 1626
Bartholomew entered the Franciscan Order as Br. Bonaventure at Timoleague.[111] In
1626 Dom John Donald McCarthy, a doctor of scared theology and pastor, and
successor to Friar Eugene at Timoleague, died and was buried in Timoleague
friary.[112]
At the provincial chapter held in Limerick in 1629 Timoleague was named among
the second rank convents with a president as the superior.[113]
Micheál Ó Cléirigh visited Timoleague 1629
On
18th June 1629 Timoleague Friary was visited by Micheál Ó Cléirigh
as he journeyed around Ireland collecting lives of the old Irish saints from
ancient manuscripts for the purposes of compiling them in a book to be printed
at the Franciscan College of St. Antony at Louvain. At Timoleague Br. Micheál
transcribed the life of St. Mochua of Balla and an anecdote of St. Baithin. On
18th June Br. Micheál wrote I
conveint na mBrathar i tTeagh Molacca as Leabhar Mheg Cárthaigh Riabhaigh ro
sccriobh an Brathair Bocht Michéul O Clerigh Beatha Mochua agus gach a bfuil
sunna gó so [Out of the Book of MacCarthy Reagh this life of Mochua, and
what is along with it up to this has been written in the convent of the friars
at Timoleague].[114] The
book of MacCarthy Reagh was written for Finghin MacCarthaigh Riabhach and his
wife Catherine, daughter of Thomas, 8th Earl of Desmond, and is
better known today by its modern name of the Book of Lismore as in 1814 it was
discovered within the walls of Lismore Castle.[115]
Br.
Micheál stayed at Timoleague for at least two or more days (he was in Cork on
24th June) as on 20th June he did more transcribing at
Timoleague Friary from the MacCarthy Reagh book. This was a life of St. Findchú
as Micheál Ó Cléirigh wrote As Leabhar
Meg Carthaigh Riabhaigh ro scriobhadh an Bheatha so Fionnchon i conveint na
mBrathar i tTeagh Molaga [Out of the Book of MacCarthy Reagh this Life of
Fionnchú was written in the convent of the friars in Timoleague].[116] This
saint is otherwise known as St. Finnchú of Brigown near Mitchelstown.[117]
After Timoleague, Br. Micheál went to Cork for at least six days to copy more
saint lives from a manuscript held by Domhnall Ó Duinnín including curiously
enough a life of St. Molaga of Timoleague.[118]
You would think that he could find at life of St. Molaga whilst in Timoleague.
At
first reading of this story one could assume that the Book of MacCarthy Reagh
was kept at Timoleague Friary. But when Lewis Boyle, Lord Kinalmeaky, captured
Kilbrittain Castle (home of MacCarthy Reagh) in June 1642 he seized the book
there and sent it to his father, Sir Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of
Cork, at Lismore. There the book appeared to be accessible to the public until
possibly during the war between King James and King William (1690-1) when it
and the Lismore crosier were hidden behind a wall. In 1814, during renovations
at Lismore Castle, the wall was knocked through and the book emerged as the
Book of Lismore.[119]
It would seem that the Book was more usually kept at Kilbrittain Castle and was
only deposited in Timoleague Friary for Br. Micheál to do his extracts before
returning to Kilbrittain.
The friary as centre of education
In
the 1620s Timoleague was one of a number of Franciscan convents that taught
philosophy.[120]
At about the same time Timoleague was named among the four houses of Donegal,
Moyne, Multyfarnham and Timoleague that were at the forefront of regular
studies and for sending students to the various colleges in Europe.[121] This
fact and Br. Micheál transcribing manuscripts at Timoleague gives an impression
of Timoleague in the 1620s compared to the Franciscan manuscripts in Europe.
The Brussels MS. 3947 and the Brevis
Synopsis were both written in Louvain to highlight the suffering of the
Franciscan convents against the heretics (the Protestant English) in a Counter
Reformation movement to generate support for the Franciscans. But in Ireland,
places like Timoleague did experience suffering yet also had a strong education
and literature programme of activity. In later years Timoleague continued a
literary connection through the Irish poem, Oidhche
dham go doiligh by Seán Ó Coileáin. The poem was first written by Fr.
Mathew Horgan in English.[122]
In
about 1631 Fr. O’Mahony [he also went by the name Fr. Matthews] wrote that the
convent still existed even after being plundered by the English, the friars
imprisoned and others fleeing into the surrounding countryside.[123]
This redaction of the words of Fr. Francis Matthews is often repeated in
various stories about Timoleague Friary.[124]
The words are possibly a collection of events over many years rather than one
day the English came and the friars ran away.
Timoleague in times of war
In
1631 Edmund Galwey, O.F.M., wrote to Fr. John of St. Francis (Punch) about
various news in Italy and Ireland. Friar Edmund mentioned that the Franciscan
convents in the Diocese of Cork and Cloyne had suffered persecutions over the
years and could do with support. He proposed an annual indulgence for pilgrims
visiting the Franciscan convent at Cork and Timoleague of the feast day of both
houses. The feast of the Cork house was that of St. Mary Magdalene while that
of Timoleague was the feast of St. Molaga (Malagchi).[125]
In
1642 Timoleague Friary was attacked, sacked and burnt by Lord Forbes. The few
remaining friars then retreated to the surrounding countryside and lived in the
houses of the local people.[126] It
would appear that the destruction of Timoleague Friary must have been near
permanent as it is not mention in the report of Franciscan manuscripts from the
17th century held in Dublin.[127]
Yet the Timoleague friars were active in the 1640s as in 1645 Daniel Crowley,
guardian of the friary, signed the petition to divide the Irish Franciscan
Province.[128]
The 1642 attack was not necessarily an anti-Catholic action. The real target of
Lord Forbes was the castle at Timoleague belonging to Roger Shaughnessy which
was successfully besieged and burnt.[129]
During
the Commonwealth Cromwellian period (1653-1660) the friars left Timoleague and
lived at Cloggagh. After 1660 they returned to Timoleague and were generally
active until the mid eighteenth century.[130] In
the 1740s, Anthony Cosident, guardian of Timoleague, lived in a house in the
town.[131]
The last of Timoleague Friary 19th
century
In
1800 Timoleague was listed among the old Franciscan friars that still had
friars operating in or near the old medieval houses. But by 1830 Timoleague had
disappeared from the list of active houses.[132] In
about 1822 the last active friar in the area, Fr. Bonaventure Tobin, died.[133] Yet
in is said that the last titular guardian of Timoleague was appointed in 1872
with Friar Patrick Carey.[134] In
1832 John Windele visited Timoleague Friary. He found the MacCarthy Reagh tomb
inscription before the high altar to be almost illegible. On the Gospel side of
the choir he observed the delicate tracery niche tomb of James de Courcy, baron
Kingsale while on the north side was a tomb for the O’Cullane sept of Carbery.
In the nave was a 1635 tomb dedicated to Thady O’Cullane. The side chapel off
the transept held the carved tomb of Bishop Edmund de Courcy.[135]
In
the 1840s Colonel Robert Travers of Timoleague House was the owner of
Timoleague town and the surrounding countryside. But it is not recorded in
Griffith’s Valuation as to who was the owner of the friary ruins which occupied
3 roots and 20 perches in area.[136] The
ancestor of Robert Travers, John Travers, lived circa 1615 at Ballynamona near
Courtmacsherry.[137] In
1891, during a mission in Timoleague parish given by a Franciscan from
Killarney, High Mass was celebrated in the ruins of Timoleague Friary for the
first time in centuries.[138] In
1895 another mass was held in the friary ruins.[139] In
October 1900 Friar Maher went on a tour from the Franciscan House in Cork to
Upton, Timoleague, Limerick and other places. It is suggested he visited the
old Franciscan Friary at Timoleague.[140]
In August 1904 some unnamed friars went from Broad Lane in Cork to Timoleague
for some unspecified reason.[141] In
June 1905 Fr. M. [Maher?], went to Timoleague on behalf of the Franciscan House
at Broad Lane in Cork.[142] there
he said mass in the friary ruins.[143] On
15th August 1913 or 1914 the Franciscans of Broad Lane in Cork went
to Timoleague. After mass in the parish church they led a procession of the
Blessed Sacrament from the church to the friary and there celebrated
Benediction.[144]
Timoleague chalices
Two
silver chalices exist from Timoleague Friary. The first chalice was found in a
house on Cape Clear by Fr. Leader while he was holding stations. He observed an
old box in the corner of the room and asked what it was. The householder said
it was left there by a priest during the Penal Law days. On opening the box it
was found to contain old vestments that fell apart when exposed to the fresh
air. Also in the box was a chalice with the inscription ‘Convent of the Friars
Minor of Timoleague’. Fr. Leader took the chalice from the house and gave it to
Fr. Ned Mulcahy, then parish priest at Timoleague. Today it is used in the
present parish church in Timoleague.[145]
Daphne
Pochin Mould learnt the story differently in that a fisherman from Cape Clear
found a drifting boat one day. On examination the boat contained two dead friars
and a third barely alive. The latter was taken to Cape Clear where he was nurse
back to health. The friar said they were from Timoleague Friary but it is not
recorded did he give reason why they were in the boat. On leaving the island
the friar left a box with the family who were so helpful and said he would
collect it on his return but he never came back. It was in the 1850s that Fr.
Leader was saying the station mass and observed the box.[146] An
old resident, Mr. Cadogan, had informed Fr. Leader about the history of the
box.[147]
There
is another story connected with the Timoleague chalice and a boat. This story
is in the Book of MacCarthy Reagh (Book of Lismore) that Br. Micheál Ó Cléirigh
consulted in Timoleague Friary. It relates to three young clerics who got into
a boat and sailed across the sea to find an uninhabited island where they could
establish a monastery. But they only brought three cakes with them on the
voyage which was insufficient for the journey. They sailed for a considerable
time without finding the island and two of the clerics died and the third
pledged to full fill the vows of his colleagues. Eventually he found the island
where he stayed for many years saying his own prayers and those of his
comrades. One day St. Brenainn came to the island and gave the old cleric the
communion and blessed him so that he went to heaven.[148] Were
the three friars aware of this story in the Book of MacCarthy Reagh and was it
their inspiration?
The
second chalice associated with Timoleague was held by the Franciscans of
Liberty Street in Cork. It measures 8½ inches in height with a bowl 3½ inches
wide. The foot is hexagonal holding up a six-sided stem. The chalice is marked
with the inscription ‘Orate Pro Animabvs Caroli Dale et Elizie Browne
Timoleagve’.[149]
This translates as ‘Pray for the souls of Charles Dale and Eliza Browne of
Timoleague.[150]
Elsewhere
it is said, according to John Windele, that a bell from Timoleague Friary was
taken to Kilbrogan Protestant church.[151]
Guardians of Timoleague
We
don’t have any names of the guardians of Timoleague Friary from its foundation
in the 13th century up to 1517 with one names and a near continuous
list from 1607 onwards to the last in 1872.[152]
===========
End
of post
===========
[1] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 13, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[2] Gwynn, Aubrey & R. Neville Hadcock, Medieval Religious Houses Ireland (Blackrock 1988), p. 46
[3] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 15, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[4] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 20, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[5] Annals of Inisfallen, 1164
[6] Annals of Inisfallen, 1164
[7] Ó Corráin, Donnchadh,
‘Corcu Loídge: Land and Families’,
in Patrick O’Flanagan & Cornelius G. Buttimer (eds.), Cork History and Society (Dublin, 1993), pp. 63-81, at p. 72
[8] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 96
[9] Nicholls, K.W., ‘Some unpublished Barry charters’, in Analecta Hibernica, No. 27 (1972), pp.
113-119, at, pp. 113, 114, 115
[10] Nicholls, ‘Some unpublished Barry charters’, pp. 113-119, at, pp.
114, 115
[11] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[12] Collins, John T., ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, in Fr. Jerome O’Callaghan,
O.F.M., Franciscan Cork (Cork, 1953),
pp. 44-47, at p. 44
[13] Coleman,
Ambrose OP, ‘Regestum Monasterii Fratrum Praedicatorum de Athenry’, in Archivium Hibernicum, vol. 1 (1912), pp.
201-221
[14] Jennings, Rev. Brendan, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae FF.
Minorum’, in Analecta Hibernica, Vol. 6 (1934), pp. 139-191, at p. 148 (p. 12)
[15] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 44
[16] Webster,
Journal Cork Archaeological Society, Vol. XXIV (1924), pp. 104, 105
[17] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 44
[18] British
Museum, Add. MS. 4821, f. 102b
[19] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[20] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 148 (p. 12)
[21] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 139
[22] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259 with reference to L.A. Alemand (translated and edited by J.
Stevens), Monasticum Hibernicum
(1722)
[23] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 261
[24] O’Keeffe, Tadhg, Medieval
Irish Buildings 1100-1600 (Dublin, 2015), p.192. About a hundred years separated the
destruction of Quin castle and the arrival of the Franciscans.
[25] Annals of Inisfallen, 1219
[26] Nicholls, ‘Some unpublished Barry charters’, pp. 113-119, at, pp.
117, 118
[27] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[28] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 1, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[29] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 125
[30] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[31] Cochrane,
Journal of the Cork Archaeological Society XVIII, p. 126
[32] O’Keeffe, Medieval Irish
Buildings 1100-1600, pp.157, 158
[33] Cadogan, Tim (ed.), Lewis’
Cork: a topographical dictionary of the parishes, towns and villages of Cork
City and County (Cork, 1998), p. 424
[34] Dunning, P.J., ‘Irish representatives and Irish ecclesiastical
affairs at the Fourth Lateran Council’, in J.A. Watt, J.B. Morrall & F.X.
Martin (eds.), Medieval Studies:
Presented to Aubrey Gwynn, S.J. (Dublin, 1961), pp. 90-113, at p. 91
[35] O’Keeffe, Medieval Irish
Buildings 1100-1600, p.153
[36] O’Keeffe, Medieval Irish
Buildings 1100-1600, p.119
[37] O’Keeffe, Medieval Irish
Buildings 1100-1600, pp.118, 120
[38] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 18, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[39] Conlan, Patrick, Franciscan
Ireland (Mullingar, 1988), p. 15
[40] Sweetman, H.S. (ed.), Calendar
of Documents relating to Ireland (5 vols. London, 1886, reprint
Liechtenstein, 1974), vol. II (1252-1284), nos. 856, 857
[41] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland, vol. II (1252-1284), nos. 1099, 1104. A
Latin version of the royal assent is found at Watt, John A., ‘English law and
the Irish Church: the reign of Edward I’, in J.A. Watt, J.B. Morrall & F.X.
Martin (eds.), Medieval Studies:
Presented to Aubrey Gwynn, S.J. (Dublin, 1961), pp. 133-167, at pp. 166,
167
[42] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259 citing the Annals of Clyn, p. 17
[43] Mooney,
Canice, Terminus (1954), p. 128
[44] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[45] Journal of
the Royal Society of Antiquarians of Ireland, XXIII, p. 338
[46] O’Brien, A.F., ‘Politics, Economy and Society: The development of
Cork and the Irish south-coast region, c.1170 to c.1583’, in Patrick O’Flanagan
& Cornelius G. Buttimer (eds.), Cork
History and Society (Dublin, 1993), pp. 83-154, at pp. 93, 95
[47] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 3, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[48] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 2, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[49] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of
Documents relating to Ireland, vol. V (1302-1307), p. 293
[50] Conlan, Patrick, Franciscan
Ireland (Mullingar, 1988), p. 21
[51] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 21
[52] Jennings, Rev. Brendan, ‘Brussels MS. 3947: Donatus Moneyus, de
Provincia Hiberniae S. Francisci’, in Analecta
Hibernica, No. 6 (1934), pp. 12-138, at p. 67 (p. 48)
[53] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 23
[54] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 23
[55] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[56] Martin, F.X., ‘Irish Augustinian reform movement in the fifteenth
century’, in J.A. Watt, J.B. Morrall & F.X. Martin (eds.), Medieval Studies: Presented to Aubrey Gwynn,
S.J. (Dublin, 1961), pp. 230-264, at p. 231
[57] Haren, Michael J. (ed.), Calendar
of entries in the Papal Registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Papal
Letters, Vol. XV, Innocent VIII: Lateran Registers, 1484-1492 (Dublin,
1978), no. 105
[58] Haren (ed.), Calendar of Papal
Registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. XV, no. 813
[59] Fuller, Anne P. (ed.), Calendar
of entries in the Papal Registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Papal
Letters, Vol. XVI, Alexander VI (1492-1503), Lateran Registers, Part One:
1492-1498 (Dublin, 1986), no. 127
[60] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
pp. 16, 17
[61] Fuller (ed.), Calendar of Papal
Registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. XVI, no. 116
[62] Gwynn, Rev. Aubrey, The
Medieval Province of Armagh (Dundalk, 1946), pp. 166, 167, 169, 171, 176
[63] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 259
[64] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at pp. 44, 45
[65] Pochin Mould, Daphne D.C., Discovering
Cork (Dingle, 1991), p. 93
[66] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 9, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[67] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 183 (p. 84)
[68] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[69] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[70] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 125 citing Ware-Harries, History
of the Bishops of Ireland (Dublin, 1739)
[71] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 16, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[72] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[73] Gwynn, The Medieval Province
of Armagh, pp. 147,
148
[74] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[75] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 25
[76] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[77] Cunningham, Bernadette (ed.), Calendar
of State Papers, Ireland, Tudor Period, 1568-1571 (Dublin, 2010), no. 69 (b)
[78] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[79] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 183 (p. 84)
[80] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 17, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[81] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at pp. 45, 46
[82] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[83] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 3, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[84] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 260
[85] Jennings, ‘Brussels MS. 3947’, pp. 12-138, at pp. 12, 67 (p. 48)
[86] Jennings, ‘Brussels MS. 3947’, pp. 12-138, at p. 67 (p. 48)
[87] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 45
[88] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 260 citing Smith, History of Cork, vol. II, p. 104
[89] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 143
[90] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[91] Brewer, J.S. & William Bullen (ed.), Calendar of the Carew Manuscripts preserved in the Archiepiscopal
Library at Lambeth (6 vols. London, 1869, reprint Liechtenstein, 1974),
vol. III (1589-1600), p. 513
[92] Russell, Rev. C.W. & John P. Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers relating to
Ireland, James I, 1606-1608 (London, 1874, reprint Liechtenstein, 1974), vol.
II, p. 332
[93] Russell & Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers, Ireland, James I, vol. V, p. 216
[94] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 260
[95] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 36
[96] Russell & Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers, Ireland, James I, vol. IV, p. 394
[97] Brewer & Bullen (eds.), Calendar
of the Carew Manuscripts, vol. 6 (1603-1624), p. 279
[98] McNeill, Charles, ‘Reports on the Rawlinson collection of
manuscripts preserved in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Rawlinson Manuscripts,
Class B’, in Analecta Hibernica, No.
1 (1930), pp. 118-178, at, p. 130
[99] McNeill, ‘Rawlinson collection in the Bodleian Library, Class B,
pp. 118-178, at, pp. 121, 128
[100] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
pp. 158, 159
[101] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[102] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 172 (p. 61)
[103] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 172 (p. 61)
[104] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[105] Russell & Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers, Ireland, James I, vol. V, pp. 535, 536, 537, 547
[106] Mahaffy, Robert (ed.), Calendar
of the State Papers relating to Ireland of the reign of Charles I (4 vols.
London, 1900, reprint Liechtenstein, 1979), vol. I (1625-1632), p. 323
[107] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[108] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[109] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 163 (p. 45)
[110] Russell & Prendergast (eds.), Calendar of the State Papers, Ireland, James I, vol. V, p. 537
[111] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[112] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 183 (p. 84)
[113] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 38
[114] Ó Muraíle, Nollaig
(ed.), Micheál Ó Cléirigh,
His Associates and St. Anthony’s College, Louvain
(Dublin, 2008), p. 62
[115] Ó Muraíle (ed.), Micheál Ó Cléirigh, p.
63
[116] Ó Muraíle (ed.), Micheál Ó Cléirigh, p.
62
[117] Ó Muraíle (ed.), Micheál Ó Cléirigh, p.
142
[118] Ó Muraíle (ed.), Micheál Ó Cléirigh, p.
142
[119] Brady,
Donald, The Book of Lismore: An
Introduction (Dungarvan, 2010), pp. 1, 2
[120] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 39. The other
convents were Cashel, Drogheda, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny and Multyfarnham.
[121] Ó Muraíle (ed.), Micheál Ó Cléirigh, p.
158
[122] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 143
[123] Gwynn & Hadcock, Medieval
Religious Houses Ireland, p. 260
[124] Jennings, ‘Brevis Synopsis Provinciae Hiberniae’, pp. 139-191, at p. 148 (p. 12)
[125] Jennings, Brendan, O.F.M. (ed.), Wadding Papers, 1614-38 (Dublin, 1953), p. 461
[126] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 8, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[127] Burtchaell, G.D. & J.M. Rigg (eds.), Report on Franciscan Manuscripts preserved at the Convent, Merchants’
Quay, Dublin
(Dublin, 1906)
[128] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 46
[129] Cadogan (ed.), Lewis’ Cork,
p. 424
[130] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 143
[131] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 47
[132] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 52
[133] Conlan, Franciscan Ireland,
p. 143
[134] Pochin Mould, Discovering
Cork, p. 94
[135] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 47
[136] Griffith’s
Valuation, Timoleague, parish of Timoleague, barony of Ibane & Barryroe
[137] Burke’s Irish Family Records
(Buckingham, 2007), p. 1128
[138] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 5, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[139] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 47
[140] Kennedy, Liam & Clare Murphy (eds.), The account books of the Franciscan House, Broad Lane, Cork, 1764-1921 (Dublin,
2012), p. 628
[141] Kennedy & Murphy (eds.), The
account books of the Franciscan House, Cork, p. 690
[142] Kennedy & Murphy (eds.), The
account books of the Franciscan House, Cork, p. 702
[143] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 47
[144] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 6, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[145] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, pp. 4, 5, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[146] Pochin Mould, Discovering
Cork, p. 94
[147] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 44
[148] Brady, The Book of Lismore: An Introduction,
pp. 19, 20
[149] Day, Robert, ‘The altar plate of the Franciscan Church, Cork’, in
the Journal of the Cork Historical and
Archaeological Society, second series, Vol. III (1897), pp. 44-50, at p. 46
[150] Duchas.ie,
The School’s Collection, Vol. 319, p. 5, Scoill Tigh Molaga
[151] Collins, ‘The Friary of Timoleague’, pp. 44-47, at p. 47; Pochin
Mould, Discovering Cork, p. 94
[152] O’Callaghan, Jerome, O.F.M., Franciscan
Cork (Cork, 1953), pp. 93, 94
