Abbey in Ruins — Strade

Strade Dominican friary is a National Monument in state ownership (no. 172). It is located in the parish of Templemore, in the N end of Strade townland, a few kilometres SE of Lough Cullin in central Co. Mayo. A friary for the Franciscan Order was established in Strade in the early to mid-1200’s -the exact date is unknown- by Jordan de Exeter, Lord of Athlethan. He also built a castle (MA061-145---- ) and established the borough of Athlethan (now Ballylahan townland), c. 2.5km NW of the friary (Knox 1903, 406). The Franciscans did not, however, remain long at Strade. In 1253, the friary was transferred to Dominican friars, either by Jordan or by his son, Stephen fitz Jordan de Exeter. This is said to have been done at the request of Stephen’s wife, Basilia, daughter of Myler de Bermingham, who was patron of the Dominicans at Athenry. Basilia is said to have invited her father to Strade for a feast at which she declared she would neither eat nor drink until her husband agreed to expel the Franciscans from Strade in favour of the Dominicans (Coleman 1912, 204-5). Papal permission was subsequently sought and received for the transfer, aided by the incentive of a sizable donation. The Dominican priory was dedicated to the Holy Cross and, according to the 16th-century Register of the Priory of Athenry, was a daughter house of Sligo Dominican priory (SL014-068008-) (Swords 1998, 21). Soon after they took possession, the Dominican suffered a misfortune: The Annals of Loch Cé record that in the year 1254 ‘The monastery of the Friars Preachers at Ath-lethan in Luighne, was all burned.’ (Hennessy 1871, 405). A papal indulgence granted in 1434 to encouraging donations from benefactors may have prompted a phase of expansion and remodelling which took place in the 15th-century (Gwynne and Hadcock 1970, 230). Following the Dissolution of monasteries, the friary and two quarters of land were granted in 1575 by Queen Elizabeth I to James Garvey for 21 years, and the property changed hands a number of times in subsequent years (Swords 1998, 21). In 1580, a meeting took place in the friary during which Sir Nicholas Malby, President of Connacht, accepted Sir Richard ‘an Iarainn’ de Burgh as lord of the MacWilliam Íochtair, in return for his loyalty. The friars managed to stay on at Strade; in 1756 there were seven friars living there, in 1767 four, and the last friar recorded in Strade died c. 1856-60 (Coleman 1902, 95). Only the church survives, comprising a nave and chancel, with remnants of a central bell tower, and a lateral aisle and a chapel/transept on the N side of the nave; domestic buildings originally extended to the S of the church, but only fragmentary walls remain. A graveyard (MA070-067004-) extends to S and E of the friary, with a modern extension to N. A 19th-century chapel, attached to the SW end of the friary church, now serves as a museum dedicated to the 19th-century Land League campaigner, Michael Davitt (d. 1906), who was born in Strade and is buried there. The friary buildings are of roughly coursed limestone masonry, with some architectural details in red sandstone. Two main phase of construction are evident: The church and the N aisle date from the 13th-century; the 15th-century saw expansion and remodelling, evidenced by the addition of the chapel/transept and the tower, and the replacement of the E window in the chancel. In recent centuries the interior of the church was used for burials, and interior ground level has risen; the original floor level was as much as 1m lower than its present-day level. Several graves of 18th- and 19th-century in date are evident throughout the church. The nave (c. 17m E–W; 6.70m N–S) is lit by a large window, partly collapsed, in the W gable and a row of four single and double lancet windows in the S wall. The eastern-most window in the S wall was partly blocked when the tower was built, but the central mullion and jamb of its E light are visible externally. The pointed, chamfered arch of a tomb niche is visible in the S wall, with remnants of a similar arch immediately to E; both are partly concealed by the rise in ground level. Also partly buried is a doorway at the E end of the S wall; this gave access to the cloister, and was integrated within the space of the tower. On the external face of the W gable, flanking the base of the window, are corbels with a string course above, suggesting that a lean-to roof was appended to the wall here, possibly associated with the preaching activities of the friars. Unusually, there is no evidence for a doorway in the W gable, where most friary churches had an entrance for the laity. At Strade the entrance appears to have been in the lateral aisle, its location marked now by a gap in the N wall. The lateral aisle (14.90m E–W; 3.88m N–S) was most likely originally separated from the nave by an arcade of arches; at the W end of the N wall of the nave, the impost of one arch survives, featuring roll mouldings consistent with a 13th-century date. Putlog holes in the W wall of the nave and aisle, where scaffolding used during construction was fitted, and building lifts (marking the amount a wall could be raised in one day) also suggest the nave and aisle belong to the same construction phase. The chapel or transept (9.15m N–S by 6m E–W) extends to N of the nave, immediately to E of the lateral aisle. It was probably added in the 15th-century, or possibly the 14th-century. It appears to pre-dates the tower, based on the similarities of the masonry fabric to that of the nave and chancel. A beautiful, elaborately carved double-light window, 15th-century in style, is intact in the E wall. It has cinquefoil round-headed lights under a pointed arch, with decorated tracery comprised of two sextfoils and two quatrefoils, cusped and arranged symmetrically. There are remnants of two altar recesses with pointed arches in the N wall. A modern burial vault now stands against the W wall of the transept. The tower, which was inserted between the nave and chancel in the 15th-century, does not survive, but its original extent (ext. 6.75m N–S; 4.45m E–W) can be traced in the disturbed fabric of the S wall of the church. Only the pointed chancel arch still stands. Built of regularly coursed, dressed limestone blocks, it has an internal chamfered rib which rests on moulded corbels with pointed stops, embellished below with intricate carvings of birds: a pelican, pecking its breast, at N and an eagle at S. In Christian tradition, the pelican, which was believed to feed its young with its own blood, is a metaphor of the Passion of Christ, the Eucharist and self-sacrifice, and is a common motif in Irish Gothic art. The eagle is used in Christian iconography to symbolised the Resurrection and baptism, based on an ancient belief that the eagle flew close to the sun to burn off old plumage and then plunged into water to renew itself; and the eagle’s ability to soar to great heights was seen as analogous to Christian efforts to aspire to greater heights of perfection and spiritual union with God. The eagle may also represent St John, one of the Four Evangelists (McDermott 2009, 98-9). The chancel (6.75 N–S; 14.95 E–W. Fig. 6) has a four-light window in the E gable, but all internal mullions and tracery are gone. It was inserted in the 15th-century, replacing the original 13th-century window, which was broader and perhaps consisted of a group of graded lancets. On the exterior wall face, two buttresses flank the window, a rather typical feature of 13th-century friary churches (similar examples occur at the Dominican friaries of Athenry (GA084-001014-) and Kilmallock (LI047-022018-)). Under the E window along the internal wall face, there are a series of six or seven corbels, which might have held statues. Beneath the window is one of the special features of the abbey, an elaborately carved 15th-century altar piece or reredos, a rare survival, designed to be displayed behind the altar. It is divide