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| Cloonshanville Stone Cross Photograph courtesy Flickr |
In 1385, the MacDermots Roe are
said to have established the Dominican Priory of the Holy Cross at
Cloonshanville, near modern day Frenchpark in County Roscommon. However, it has
been argued that it was, in fact, MacDermot Gall that founded this abbey, since
it was in their territory and far from any MacDermot Roe land.
MacDermot Gall was chief of
Airteach, which was an area west of the Breedogue River and bordered on the
northside by the River Lung and Lough Gara. MacDermot Roe was chief of
Tir-Tuathail, lying to the west of Lough Allen. The Abbey occupies the site of
an early monastery founded by St Conmitius who was bishop there in the time of
St Patrick.
The ivy covered bell-tower still
stands and some ruined walls may be seen. The tower has a simple pointed vault
with holes for two bell-ropes. Three of the four corbels in the vault are
decorated with small floral motifs and simple interlaced crosses. Much of the
detail of the outer wall of the tower is obscured by the ivy. An interesting
feature of this abbey is the Piscina which is a shallow stone used for washing
the communion vessels.
The Dominicans first arrived in
Ireland in the year 1224, three years after the death of St Dominic and the
arrival of the friars in England. Two foundations were made in Ireland that
first year; one in Drogheda and one in Dublin. The Dominican friars initially
made foundations in those regions of Ireland under Anglo-Norman control, but
they soon established themselves in the Gaelic parts of the island also. Twenty
four Dominican communities were founded in Ireland in the thirteenth century.
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| Piscina - Cloonshanville Photograph courtesy Flickr |
Monasteries such as
Cloonshanville, Boyle Abbey and Trinity Island are a significant feature of
settlement in County Roscommon and would have played an important role in the
development of a communications network. Two major roads - the Slighe Assail
and the Slighe Mhor- linked Connacht to the east-coast ports and to English and
continental markets.
In the official records of the
Anglo-Norman administration, control of roadways is seen as vital to the safety
of local communities and the conduct of the king's business. The Slighe Assail
was traditionally the main road from Meath to Connacht and can clearly be seen
to be focused on Cruachain or Rathcroghan as it is more commonly known today. In
addition to the crucial focal point of Cruachain, the Slighe Assail passes
close to a number of early Christian establishments.
In both Longford and Roscommon,
minor roads radiate from the Slighe Assail. In Roscommon a number of these
converge on important early Christian and later ecclesiastical centres:
Mocmoyne (just east of Boyle), Cloonshanville, Tibohine and Elphin, which was
the diocesan centre for east Connacht for the greater part of the medieval
period.
The River Boyle, the principal
tributary in the upper reaches of the Shannon, flows out of Lough Gara and
through Lough Key, a shallow lake with many substantial wooded islands. Some of
these islands have important archaeological remains: the monastery of Trinity
Island, for example, and the remains of the Mac Diarmata stronghold at Carraig
Mac Diarmata.
The Shannon River with the two
major routeways - the Slighe Assail and the Slighe Mhor - provided relatively
easy access to the outside world throughout the medieval period.
In 1977 the National Parks and
Monuments Branch of the Office of Public Works carried out a limited excavation
at the site of a stone cross close to Cloonshanville Abbey. No archaeological
material or any evidence of occupation was found in the excavated area.
An elderly Frenchpark resident
recalled that the old people told stories of coffins being left at the cross to
be taken into the Abbey later by the monks. It was also said that at times you
can hear the sound of church bells coming from the nearby boglands where monks
perished while trying to escape to Boyle.
The cross is made from rough
sandstone. It has an overall length of 3.90m, only 30cm of which was not
visible above the ground prior to excavation. There is a large crudely made
boss on each face of the cross at the intersection of the shaft and arms. No further
attempt appeared to have been made to decorate the cross. The arms extend 14cm
to 16cm out from the shaft. Archaeologists believe that the Cloonshanville
cross is medieval in date and probably erected in the twelfth century.
Theobald Dillon got possession of
Cloonshanville after the dissolution of the Monasteries. The Dillon’s settled
in Ireland after the Norman Conquest in 1169 and were a landlord family from
the 13th century in a part of County Westmeath called 'Dillon's Country'. His
great-grandson, the seventh Viscount, was a supporter of the Catholic King
James II of England and was outlawed after the Glorious Revolution or the
Revolution of 1688. He founded 'Dillon's Regiment' of the Irish Brigade in the
French Army, which was supported by the Wild Geese and achieved success at
Fontenoy in 1745.
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