Abbey — St. Dominicks Abbey

On the E side of Dominic Street at the northern end of the town (TS061-025----), immediately outside the medieval town wall (TS061-025023-). This priory was founded in 1243 by Archbishop David O'Kelly of Cashel (d. 1252) for the Dominican Friars (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 223). A S transept with a W aisle was added c. 1270 (Leask 1967, 93). Testimony to the importance of the foundation was its hosting of two general chapters of the Dominican order in Ireland in 1289 and 1307 (Harbison 1970, 225). Following an accidental fire in c. 1480 the greater part of the friary was rebuilt by Arcbishop John Cantwell (d. 1483) in return for which he was recognised as patron and co-founder (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 223). In April 1540 the then Prior, Edward Brown surrendered the Friary (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 223). In an inquisition of that time it was described as comprising a church and belfry, a cloister, dormitory, and a chamber with two cellars accompanied by an orchard, three gardens, and a cemetery (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 223). In the precincts there were nine cottages with six gardens and outside were two messuages with four gardens (White 1943, 334-5). In 1543-4 the entire complex was granted to Walter Fleming for a rent of £46.2s.6d (Gwynn and Hadcock 1988, 223). The upstanding remains consist of a long rectangular church, orientated E-W, with a crossing tower (dims E-W 5.68m) at the junction of the nave (int. dims. E-W 23.1m) and choir, a S transept (int. dims. 5.75m N-S; E-W including W aisle 12.3m) running off the nave with a western aisle (Wth 3.95m), the piers of which are only visible as column bases and an aisle on the S side of the nave (int. dims. of nave and S aisle N-S 12.75m), the springer for the W arch of which projects from the W gable. It is constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble, with yellow sandstone employed for the 13th-century lancet windows and doorways, and cut and dressed limestone utilised in the 15th-century alterations. The pointed doorway in the W gable has sandstone surrounds with an external chamfer. There is a horizontal recess (H c. 0.3m) above the doorway which runs the width of the gable. The choir is lit by a sequential alignment of nine lancet windows in the S wall, while the triple lancets in the E gable have been blocked up and a four-light traceried window inserted. The 13th-century windows in the S transept and the W gable of the nave have also been blocked up and replaced by traceried windows. The crossing tower, added in the 15th century, rises on stone piers with a vaulted arch at a level with the top of the nave wall. The tower rises three storeys above the arch with the lower courses of the parapet surviving. The coping stones of the nave roof project from the E face of the tower, with a doorway above the roofline on the N side where the tower was accessible from the wall-walk of the nave. A series of five corbels and the coping stones of claustral buildings project out from the external N face of the nave, above which is a row of 13th-century sandstone lancet windows lighting the nave. There is a blocked flat-headed sandstone doorway at first-floor level at the W end of the N wall of the nave which is not visible externally. There are also the remains of a building running E-W adjoining the northern and southern ends of the external face of the E wall of the S transept. There are a number of medieval graveslabs (TS061-025065- to TS061-025075-) in the nave, the S transept and its aisle and a 13th/14th-century sarcophagus (TS061-025063-) in the NE corner of the nave. Incorporated into the masonry of the N wall of the nave there is a sculpted female head (TS061-025076-) and portion of a side-panel of an altar tomb (TS061-025064-) decorated with the symbols of the passion. A primitive carving of a male child-like figure (perhaps a portrayal of the child Jesus) appears to be of post-1700 date. There is a very badly worn fragment of a medieval graveslab functioning as a step up into the chancel area E of the crossing tower. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011