What is recorded here

Dunleer in County Louth claims St Bridget, yet Forodran and Baithren probably founded the monastery during the sixth or seventh century. Abbots ruled there from 721 until the ninth century, but the monastery vanished except for a medieval pointed doorway and round-headed window trapped inside the modern parish church tower. The building still stands while the religious community disappeared, forcing visitors to imagine whether those stones marked a chapel, a gate or a forgotten hall.

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 There is a strong local tradition of association with St Bridget, but a monastery was probably founded here by SS Forodran and Baithren in the sixth or seventh century. Abbots are known here from AD 721 and their obits are recorded until the end of the ninth century. There are no physical remains visible other than the possible outline preserved in the street-scape. There is a medieval pointed arch of a doorway and a round-headed window in the W tower of the modern parish church (Bradley 1984b, 141). (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 35; CLAJ 1944, 282-3)

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