Abbey in Tulsk

An ancient church may have existed at Tulsk since it is listed in the Registry of Clonmacnoise (O'Donovan 1856-7, 451), and such a church might be that listed as Tulagh in the ecclesiastical taxation of Elphin in 1306 (Cal. doc. Ire., vol. 5, 223). A Dominican friary dedicated to St Patrick was founded in 1448 by either by Fedlimid mac Fedlimid O'Conor or Fedlimid MacDowell (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 230-1), probably the former (McDermott 2016), but nothing is known of its history and it may have been derelict by 1582 when Sir Charles Bingham established a garrison at Tulsk (O'Conor, 2007, 196). The tower house (RO022-114009-) in the chancel may have been built then or in 1595 when Sir Richard Bingham built fortifications at Tulsk and placed them under the command of Capt. George Lane. It is situated on a gentle N-facing slope. (Gormley 1989, 38-44) Only the S wall (surviving L c. 28m) with the remains of one window, and fragments of the W and N walls (int. dim. 7.25m N-S) survive of the undifferentiated nave and chancel church, forming the earliest construction phase in the mid-15th century. In the later 15th century two pointed arches springing from a central cylindrical pillar give access to a S transept (ext. dims 12m N-S; 8m E-W) towards the W end of the S wall. There are mason's marks on the E corbel of the E arch and the SW side of the pillar, but the tracery of the S transept window, which had three lights, is missing. The top (dims 2.15m x 0.35m plus; T 0.2m) of the tomb (RO022-114007-) of Frances Gardiner, dated 1679, is almost buried in the SW corner of the transept. A crucifixion plaque (RO022-114014-) (dims 1.06m x 1.06m) over the arms of O'Conor Roe is built into the inner face of the S wall of the transept over the grave of John O'Conor of Tonroe, who died in 1777. An armorial plaque of O'Kelly (RO022-114015-) (dims 0.65m x 0.57m), probably 18th century in date, is built into the inner face of the W transept wall. The W wall of Bingham's tower house (RO022-114009-) and adjacent fragments of the N and S walls survive to three storeys. There was a doorway in the N wall at the ground floor from the church period, which is partly blocked by the W wall of the tower hose, and there are fireplaces in the W wall at the first and second floors. There was a spiral stairs in the NW angle, but there was no vaulting. The church and tower house are within as subrectangular graveyard (RO022-114008-) (dims c. 120m N-S; c. 90m E-S) which contains almost 50 dressed stones re-used as gravemarkes, including fragments of a cloister arcade, which may have been N of the church, and from the S transept window (Brady et al. 2005). Field system (RO022-113001-) extends off to the SW. The castle (RO022-114001-) is c. 120m to the NNE and rath (RO022-114003-) is c. 110m to the NE. See the attached view of the S transept from the S. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 8 December, 2011