What is recorded here

Charles Coghlan restored the ruined Clonmacnoise cathedral in 1647 using his own money, and the church still keeps his name on a stone embedded in the north wall. He did not wait for distant permission or royal gold; he faced a broken house and helped it stand again. That much is written, remembered and set into the building itself.

National Monument No. 81. 17th century inscribed stone dedicated to the restoration work on the cathedral church carried out by Charles Coghlan, Vicar of Clonmacnoise, in 1647. This stone or plaque is incorporated into the N wall at the E end of the cathedral church (OF005-004001-). The inscribed stone was described by John O’Donovan in 1856-7 when he recorded that ‘on the north side wall within the Church this Inscripcion. Hoc Ecclia restaurata erat p Carolum Coghlan Vicarium General Anno 1617 propriis impensis’ (O’Donovan 1856-7, 447). In 1907, Westropp recorded this inscribed stone which he recorded dated from 1647 and not 1617 as recorded by O’Donovan in 1856/7 (Westropp 1907a, 282-5). Westropp recorded this inscription as a slab with an inscription in ‘raised capitals, the words, “Carolus Coghlanus, Vicarius Generalis | Cluanmacnose, propriis impendiis, hanc | dirutam ecclesiam restauravit….| Anno Domini, 1647” (Westropp 1907a, 282-5) Compiled by: Caimin O’Brien Date of upload: 09 August 2012

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