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IN THIS LATEST article in the Hidden Heritage series, I have more suggestions for great historical sites to visit around the island of Ireland. In this edition we explore some of Ireland’s finest medieval treasures in County Kilkenny.
As ever, I’m hoping to feature sites from all over the island of Ireland, and I’d love to hear your suggestions – if you have a favourite heritage site please do leave a comment below.
Jerpoint Abbey near Thomastown in Kilkenny has one of Ireland’s best collections of medieval sculpture and architecture. The Abbey is believed to have been founded by a donation by the King of Ossory Dónal Mac Gilla Pátraic in around 1160AD, and may have originally been a Benedictine foundation but it was taken over by the Cistercian order by around 1180.
The abbey is laid out in the traditional Cistercian way with a cruciform shaped church with cloisters to the south. The abbey was adapted and changed throughout its history, particularly in the 15th century, when a papal indulgence was granted to raise funds for the renovation and repair of many of the buildings.
The Cistercians first came to Ireland in around 1142 and established their first foundation at Mellifont in Meath. By this time, the Cistercians were one of the most powerful religious orders in Europe.
The life of a Cistercian monk was strictly apportioned between religious study and manual labour, with all tasks scheduled to fit around regular communal prayers. Every day the monks arose for Matins at about 2am, then Lauds at 5am, Prime at 6am, Terce at 9am, Sext at noon, Nones at 3pm, Vespers around 5pm and finally Compline at 6pm. It was a life of almost unvarying routine and absolute discipline. Monks performed their tasks in silence, their meals were plain and largely vegetarian and their habits were made of coarse, undyed, wool. A Cistercian monk in England, Ailred of Rievaulx, described the daily experience:
Our food is scanty, our garments rough; our drink is from the stream and our sleep often upon our book. Under our tired limbs there is but a hard mat; when sleep is sweetest, we must rise at bell’s bidding. Self-will has no place; there is no moment for idleness or dissipation.
This austere life contrasts quite sharply with some of the elaborate and charming (and sometimes humorous) sculptures and depictions that you can see around the Abbey. Inside the church, you can see a wealth of medieval tombs. Some with ‘weepers’, sculptures of the apostles and saints that surround the base of the tomb. Many of these were created by the medieval master sculptor Rory O’Tunney, who was based nearby at Callan. The saints are recognisable as many hold a symbol of their martyrdom.
In this picture you can see (from left to right) St. John, St Thomas holding a lance (the manner of his martyrdom), St Simon holding a saw in his right hand (he was said to have been martyred by being sawn in half), and St. Bartholomew holding his skin (he was said to have been flayed alive). The figure on the far right represents St. Paul holding a sword in his right hand (he was said to have been decapitated by sword on the orders of Emperor Nero) and St James Minor.
A number of other fascinating tomb effigies can also be seen, the earliest of which is that of Abbot O’Dulany who died in 1202. Perhaps most intriguing is the effigy of two Norman knights known as The Brethren, depicted in their armour side by side (see below). It is suggested that they may represent two of the sons of William Marshall.
The cloister really is wonderful, with an almost unparalleled wealth of sculpture, where saints, religious figures, courtly ladies, knights and fantastical beasts like dragons and manticores can all be seen, some carved with a sense of humour that you might not expect in an austere Cistercian abbey.
Exploring Jerpoint is always a rewarding day out and each time I revisit I notice some other great sculpture or detail I had overlooked before. Jerpoint is under the auspices of the OPW. It has an informative visitor centre and you can enjoy a guided tour. For opening hours and entry fees please visit here. Jerpoint Abbey is around 2.5km south-west of Thomastown on the R448 and it is well signposted.
If you fancy seeing more spectacular medieval sculpture (and who wouldn’t?!), just a very short drive from Jerpoint you can visit the ruins of the medieval parish church of Kilfane. Inside the church, propped against the wall, you can see something truly special: the Cantwell Fada (also known as The Long Man), probably the most impressive medieval effigy of a knight anywhere in either Ireland or Britain.
This incredible knight stands over 8 feet tall, and is the largest of its type, described by Professor Roger Stalley of Trinity College Dublin as ‘a colossus among medieval effigies’.
It depicts a knight wearing a metal skull-cap covered by a coif, and a chainmail hauberk protecting his torso as far as his knees. It is under a cloth surcoat with deep folds and a sword belt. He has prominent spurs on his feet, showing that he fought from horseback. His shield bears the arms of the Cantwell family, a prominent family of Norman nobles who accompanied Theobold Walter during the Norman arrival in the late twelfth century. For their distinguished service, the Cantwells became lords of Kilfane. It is not certain what member of the Cantwell family the effigy represents, though some scholars believe it to be Thomas Cantwell who died in around 1320.
Apart from this truly incredible effigy, Kilfane Church itself is well worth exploring. It is a long rectangular church that probably dates to the 13th century. Inside you can see a number of features like the sedilia (the priest’s seat), and a very fine tower. It’s a lovely atmospheric site, made really special by the most amazing piece of medieval sculpture I have ever seen.
You’ll find Kilfane Church less than a 10 minute drive from Jerpoint Abbey. Simply follow the R448 through Thomastown heading north towards Dungarvan. You’ll see a sign for Kilfane Church (and Kilfane Waterfall and Historic Garden) on your right after around 4.5km. Drive up the narrow road and park opposite the 19/20th century Church of Ireland. Pass through the small black gate opposite the modern church and follow the little path under the trees to the medieval ruins. You’ll find it at co-ords 52.555151, -7.119077
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Fancy exploring some of Ireland’s fantastic heritage sites this weekend? Please visit my blog http://timetravelireland.blogspot.ie where I have more suggestions for great places to visit. You can also download audioguides from my website abartaheritage.ie, where we have 25 guides that tell the story of Irish heritage and the majority are absolutely free to download.
If you’d like to keep up with daily images and information about Ireland’s fantastic heritage sites please consider following Neil’s company Abarta Audioguides on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Not one word on the housing crisis in this article.Why would any teacher want to work in Dublin for example with exorbitant rents and virtually no prospect of getting on the housing ladder.No wonder places such as Dubai are benifitting from our education system.
@Willie Marty: apparently they’re not buying houses in dubai either as the union is highlighting the problems of returning?
@brian o’leary: ??
No full time jobs for teachers, but let’s pay out hundreds of thousands to an RTE executive who was responsible for the Deceit, Lies & Misinformation around salaries, refused to attend the PAC, goes out sick for months & is then rewarded by the “new transparent regime” who hide their rewarding for incompetence, behind a Non Disclosure Agreement. What a mess of a country, Simon Harris allowing the whole RTE debacle continue, while schools can’t even get full time teachers. The moral of the story is, the more crooked, corrupt, incompetent you are, the more likely you are to succeed in Ireland, the days of being honest & hard working in Ireland are only for the fools.
@SV3tN8M4: hospitals taking on foreign staff…Irish Nurses in Sydney a few years ago holding signs saying ‘give is a reason to come home’
We are speeding towards an education crisis in Ireland. Just as decades of FF and FG has brought us a healthcare crisis and a housing crisis, their policies are also destroying education. We have packed schools with 30 or more students in each class. The number of students with additional needs is increasing as supports available to them decrease. Teachers are increasingly expected to parent, as well as educate. Norma Foley’s phoney war on phones is a great example of this.
@Keyser Söze: You do realize that poorly educated children become adults who don’t necessarily practice scrutiny and skepticism, may focus on convenience and compliance (where parents are unable or unwilling to fill such gaps) and thus become sheeple citizens?
Limit career breaks to after 35. Went into a bar in Perth. 8 Irish teachers working there all under 40 and all on career breaks from teaching. Teachers with 3-4 years working should not be allowed to take career breaks. Do the job or leave, get out. Politicians do not set a good example.
@Alan Cooke: one important reason why young teachers take career breaks abroad is to try and build up a lump sum for a deposit on a house. This issue is directly related to the housing crisis.
@Alan Cooke: won’t make a difference. We’ve had two teachers just resign after failing to get a career break extension and stay in Dubai. A permanent job is not what it once was if you can’t get somewhere to live. And if they do come back they know they’ll get another job no problem.
@Alan Cooke: Nonsense argument. I am teaching 15 years, the last 5 being in Sydney. I was stuck in the Irish system with no chance of progression because the Irish system values length in the job over efficacy. One year in Australia and I was earning 40K more than in Ireland, I pay 30% tax and I have been promoted twice. The Irish system is years behind England, Australia etc.
The worst minister we’ve ever had. Let’s ban mobile phones. Which she knows won’t work at second level. Let’s continue to make allowances in state exams for Covid years after the fact. Let’s give free books to those who don’t need them to win some votes. And on and on it goes
Re-hire Enogh Burke.
@Karin Ahlers: We’re desperate but not that desperate!
@Karin Ahlers:
Haha hahaha No school on earth would touch him.
Even the head of the famously fanatical Westboro Baptist church in Kansas said he goes too far.
@Karin Ahlers: lol… culty lunatic cant even get an open comments section!
@jak: he was locked up because he’s an attention hoor who disrupted a school. If he walked into a school in the US without the right to be there he might have been shot.
I’m currently a Pme student in year 2, the salt in the wound regarding the tremendous cost is the utter irrelevance of the content of the course to instill the necessary skills to actually teach. Countless non value add essays. You can tell when it was expanded to 2 years they scraped the barrel for content, at least 60% fluff which enormous overlap/repetition of content. That’s what I find most demoralising, 13000 euros for fluff. Keep the money if that’s their primary concern, which I suspect it is, but my god lean up the program and trim the morbid obesity of fat that is currently contained within.
Maybe change the pay scales so they get more starting off and less later on as they’re much less likely to go off to dubai etc when they’re 40+ and have a mortgage and kids etc?
@brian o’leary: If they’re only getting partial hours then even with elevating the pay scale teachers are starting out on miniscule money. And theres no requirement on principals to increase those teachers’ hours over time either. Why would you stay?
@Mindful Muinteoir: a new type of permanent contract could be created, where a teacher could work in a few different schools within an area?
@brian o’leary: who would pay for the exhorbitant cost of travelling to several different schools? Also would timetabling give a person time to travel between classes?
@Ashling Fenton: exorbitant? My town has 5 secondary schools within walking/cycling distance? Milage could be orovided, with scheduling keeping travel to a minimum.
My cousin worked “temporarily” for 12 years and missed out on pension contributions and mortgage opportunities.
She then emigrated.
@Padraig O’Brien: This ^^. The crisis is in availability of dogs-body teachers willing to take shite hours or last-minute day-to-day subbing. Treat teachers & teaching with respect.
Point one of the payscale while paying Dublin rents lol…doesn’t take Einstein to work out the lack of new teachers in urban areas. After all those years in college…get out of here and onto a plane to a country that won’t bleed you dry in your younger years and will pay you well and not tax you to death while destroying you with high rents.
Some ideas to help solve the problem. Teachers need to be able to change schools without having to give up their CID. Access to redeployment must improve. Extra pay needs to be given to those who have extra qualifications. Posts need to return to being based on seniority. Teachers who return to the profession should not have to start at point one of the scale again. School inspections need to be stopped.
@peter lynch: I agreed with all of that bar posts being based on seniority. The fact that Brenda who has been doing a mediocre job for 18 years is automatically entitled to a post is the kind of thing that drove me to Sydney. Ridiculous notion that you won’t find in any leading education system.
I also disagree with school inspections being stopped however, let’s make them about pedagogy and making teachers better rather than catching people out who don’t have paperwork completed. The fact that most inspectors are woefully out of date with current research on best practice doesn’t help either.
@Mark De Brún: needs to go back to seniority as interview system is abused & regardless of who gets them in current system once they have them they cannot be taken away so productivity will reduce regardless as it can now potentially remain with the same person for 30 years or more. A more regular change is more of a healthy environment where experience is respected. I agree with inspections if inspectors have significant teaching experience & training done
I’m 86 years old.My father was a Classics master,brothers,Grand parents,great grandparents were school teachers.I would respectfully suggest that the calibre of those graduating from Colleges are often not suitable or committed to their profession .If you were studying for Nursing you would have assessment en route as to your suitability ,comittement etc.and in some Asian country’s would be required to give at least 5 years of work in your own country before you went abroad,
Part of the problem not mentioned in the article is the fact that teachers can take a career break of up to 5 year’s and up to 10 year’s over the course of their career.
What other occupation in the country is allowed to do that and then expect to be somehow comeback home from wherever and keep their seniority and pay scale parity. There are many newly qualified teachers who can’t get teaching posts because of this ridiculous situation.
@Chaotic State: public sector job rules are as dark and mysterious as the social welfare system. If you were the right age at the right time and knew the right people who knew people to help you learn the loop holes which existed it would certainly have gotten you very far in the sector with a cozy number. Not as many today but back in mid 90′s dear god a lad with half an intercert with the right neighbour would have made a board of management!
The low ballers of middle isle Ireland.
They will have to ship in teachers from India soon like that what’s be done in every other job, no Irish will be left in this rip off country
The only one’s benefitting from this system are property and land owners
Unless parents stop trying to dictate how teachers teach and raise their kids to behave in public, there will continue to be a teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
have your say