Religious house — Fratres Cruciferi in Townparks (upper Dundalk By.)

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 Priory of St. Leonard, Fratres Cruciferi, founded by Bertram or Nicholas de Verdun in the twelfth century and situated in the grounds of the present county library. Possibly same as Leper Hospital of St. Mary Magdalene, recorded in the Monastic Extents as the hospital of the Crutched Friars of St Leonard, Dundalk (JKAHS 1966-7, 144). Only a pointed featureless barrel vault, probably part of the domestic quarters, now remains (CLAJ 1941, 19-20). Stone lined graves, part of the monastic burial ground , were found earlier this century (See LH007-119036-). (JRSAI 1908, 300-2; CLAJ 1941, 19-20; CLAJ 1948, 315; Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 212-13; Tempest 1952a). Discovery of human remains resulted in archaeological investigations during the 1990s (Halpin 1992, 33-4; Campbell 1996, 65; Campbell 1997a, 79).