Church in Monaincha

Situated on a raised area of land surrounded by bog on an island locally known as the Women's Island in a lake formerly known as Lough Cré. The lake was drained by a local landowner in the nineteenth century (Joyce 1911, 20). Monaincha Abbey (TN018-001001), on another island, lies c. 450m to the E. In 1185-6 Giraldus Cambrensis described Monaincha as consisting of two islands 'one rather large and the other rather small. The larger has a church [TN018-001001] venerated from the earliest times. The smaller has a chapel cared for most devotedly by a few celibates called 'heaven-worshippers' or 'god-worshippers' (O'Meara 1982, 60), this appears to be a reference to Culdee or Céili Dé, an austere reform group of the eight and ninth centuries. According to Gwynn and Hadcock (1970, 41) the church on the smaller island, which may be 'Woman's Island' was dedicated to St Colum. The Annals of Innisfallen record the death of Colum, son of Fergus of Innis Cré under the year 788 (ibid.). The island is illustrated on an eighteenth-century map c. 1790 (Ledwich 1804) showing a rectangular building orientated roughly E-W. This was known traditionally as the 'woman's church' and had been destroyed by the end of the eighteenth century (Gleeson 1947, 23). A house and outbuildings now occupy the site. The island was also known as Insula Viventium or 'Island of the Living' and tradition, going back to Giraldus Cambrensis, had it that no one ever died or could ever die while on this island (Joyce 1911, 22), however, there is some confusion about this tradition as it has also been ascribed to the neighbouring monastic island (TN018-001001) which is known as 'Inch na mBeo'. The site was defined by a roughly circular enclosure (diam. c. 104m). The former bank has now been reduced to a scarp (H 0.6m) and is completely levelled in the SE quadrant. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008