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| Urlaur Abbey - County Mayo |
The Church is rectangular with doorways in the western and
southern walls, windows and three gothic arches. There is an aperture where
lepers could rest and hear Mass. The Abbey also had other buildings such as the
kitchens, the refectory, the boathouse for a quick escape and, up the steps,
the dormitory where the friars slept.
The Urlaur Pattern is still held each year on the 4th. August
to remember the feast of St. Dominic. The chief duty of the Dominicans was to
preach. They also helped the sick and lepers and provided shelter for pilgrims
and travellers though living on charity themselves.
The Dominicans are named after their founder Saint Dominic
who was born in Spain in 1170. He chose a life of penance and poverty and
gathered together a band of preachers in southern France in the early part of
the 13th century. The preachers were sent to cities where the Universities and
other seats of learning were to be found. The Dominican Friars came to Oxford
and London in 1221 and to Dublin in 1224 and are known as the Order of Friars
Preachers. The Order spread quickly through Ireland forming communities and
churches. Twenty-Four Dominican communities were founded in Ireland in the
thirteenth century.
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. 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'.
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| Four Altars |
The Costello’s of Tallaghanmore or Edmondstown were another
branch of the family. The last member of this family was Captain Costello who
built the residence of the Bishop of Achonry. This latter family became
Protestants somewhere around the beginning of the 19th Century. It was said
that Sir Robert Peel, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland (1812 to 1818) and
later became British Prime Minister, the man who established the Royal Irish
Constabulary (the Peelers), regularly visited this family of Tallaghanmore for
the shooting season.
Most monasteries in the West escaped suppression until the
reign of James 1. Following inquisitions in 1608 and 1610, the friary was
declared suppressed and its lands given to Sir Edward Fisher. Later it passed
into the hands of Sir Theobald Dillon although the friars went on living
quietly at Urlaur.
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| Stairs leading to the Dormitory Urlaur Abbey |
The situation deteriorated further under Cromwell. Fr.
Dominic Dillon and Fr. Richard Overton of Urlaur were put to death at Drogheda.
Cromwellians killed a Fr. Mac Costello and Fr. Gerard Dillon died in prison.
Despite the mayhem and terror of the time, eleven Dominicans met at Urlaur to
discuss the affairs of the Order.
In 1698 the friars were forced to flee the Friary again
because of the Penal Laws. Facing the threat of transportation and possibly
death, five friars remained in the area including Fr. Pierce Costello and Fr.
Redmond Costello. The late 18th century saw the Friary in ruins and
a dwindling community. The last friar was Fr. Patrick Sharkey who died in 1843.
‘The Friars of Urlaur’ is dark but highly amusing tale of
morality whereby the Friars seek to banish a foul and evil spirit which had
invaded their peace. The story appears in ‘Legends of Saints and Sinners’ a
book of Irish Christian folklore, collected and transcribed by Douglas Hyde and
published in 1915
Some evil spirit found its way to Loch Urlaur. It came at
first in the shape of a black boar. One day the friars were walking by the
brink of the lake when they saw the big black boar. It let a screech out of it
and rose up then on its hind feet screeching and dancing for a couple of hours.
Then it leaped into the water and an awful storm followed with lightning and
the thunder, and everybody thought that it was the end of the world.
After much tormenting by the creature, the friars enlisted
the help of the bishop to rid themselves of the evil spirit. "Seize the
villain, seize him," says the bishop. "You didn't seize me
yourself," says the villain, "when I was your pet hound, and when you
were giving me the meat that you would not give to the poor people who were
weak with the hunger; I thank you for it, and I'll have a hot corner for you
when you leave this world."
The evil spirt was finally destroyed by a local piper who was
said to have done more good on this world than all the priests and friars in
the country.
Urlaur Abbey now lies in ruins but the annual pattern held on
4th of August brings locals and visitors to the area. Mass is celebrated in the
old Abbey and a sense of peace is evident among the hallowed stones.
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