Religious house — unclassified in Monanimy Lower

In the general area of Monanimy tower house (vol. 4, no. 14368) and church (vol. 4, no. 14446). There is a persistent but confused tradition that the tower house and church were connected with a preceptory. Traditions associated with the tower house vary. Smith (1750, vol. 1, 342) described it as a 'preceptory belonging to the Knight's of St John of Jerusalem' while according to Lewis (1837, vol. 2, 384-5), 'by some supposed' to be built by the Knights Templar. The church, according to Lewis (ibid.), was on the site of 'an ancient preceptory of the Knights Hospitallers' of which nothing remains except 'a few fragments of a wall near the church'. These are probably the same walls described by Grove White (1905-25, vol. 4, 110) in 1908 as 'ancient wall and gable' between the graveyard and the church and are possibly the 'traces of a very large building' around the tower house described by Smith (1750, vol. 1, 342). A former resident of the tower house described the walls near the graveyard as a 'monastery' dedicated to St Nicholas (Grove White 1905-25, vol. 4, 110). This is the same dedication as a holy well (vol. 4, no. 14023), c. 180m to the WNW. Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 341) note the traditions but offer no conclusion as to their validity. The precise location of this possible preceptory is not known. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009