Religious house — Augustinian, of Arrouaise nuns in Collierstown (skreen By.)

A convent of nuns may have been founded before 1195 as in that year the church of St Bridget of Odder, under the patronage of the Barnwall family, was confirmed to the Arroasian nuns of Clonard (Brady 1960, 5). Matilda Methe, the abbess, died in 1383 and was succeeded by Johanna, who had been abbess of Clonard (ME047-021----) since 1380, and Odder became the centre of the combined community from this time (Hall 2003, 154). Elizabeth, abbess of Odder, is recorded in 1478 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1971, 323). At the Suppression in 1540 Odder consisted of a parish composed of the detached townland of Odder, later absorbed into Tara parish, and Calliaghtown – derived from cailleach, an old woman or nun - now called Collierstown and absorbed into Skryne parish (Otway-Ruthven 1964, 122). When it was surrendered in 1540 by Margaret Sylke, the last abbess, the church was described as the parish church. There were 120 acres in demesne at Odder where five tenants leased 53 acres for customary dues. Eighty acres were held at Calliaghtown in Skreen, 60 acres at Clonard, 60 acres at Callaghton in Kells, and 60 acres at Callaghton near Fore (White 1943, 260-2). The estate was granted to James Stanihurst c. 1557, to Richard Power in 1589, and in 1613 the church of St Bridget of Odder was granted to John Baxter (Cogan 1862-70, 1, 255-8). Ussher (1622) describes the church and chancel as ruined and says it was a chapel-of-ease to Tara (Erlington 1847-64, 1, Lxxix). It may be the chapel at Cookstown described under Skryne in Dopping’s visitation (1682-5) (Ellison 1972, 6), but otherwise there is no further record of it. Odder is assessed as a parish of 1204 acres (Lewis 1837, 2, 446), which suggests that other townlands, perhaps Colvinstown and Cookstown, now part of Skrine, were included in it. Odder was not recognised as a parish by the Ordinance Survey (1836 ed.). The precise location of the abbey and the parish church is not known, but it was probably in what is now Collierstown townland. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 28 January, 2015