David Hicks
Growing up in the hinterland of the ancient edifices of Rosserk and Moyne Abbey in Co. Mayo, left a distinct impression on me, and an acute awareness since childhood of ancient Ireland. These ancient ruins sit in a landscape peppered with historic landmarks such as standing stones, the ruin of a 13th century castle across the river and a nearby Holy Well, Tobar Mhuire, housed in a small stone building erected in 1799. This is the landscape that shaped me, inspired my love of architecture and my appreciation of the craftsmanship of the past.
Rosserk Abbey was founded in the fifteenth century by the chieftain of the Joyces, a powerful family of Welsh origin, who settled in Connacht in the thirteenth century. The friary of Rosserk housed a community of friars of the Third Order of St. Francis or the Tertiaries. Unusually this order consisted of married men and women who wished to lead a Franciscan life, but because of their marital status, were not able to join the First Order (friars) or the Second Order (nuns). Prior to the construction of the abbey, the area was called ‘Ros Serce’, named after a miracle working female saint called Searc, a disciple and alleged sister of St. Patrick who resided there. It is speculated that the foundation of the abbey at the Rosserk site occurred somewhere between 1400 and 1441 as the Tertiaries enjoyed wealthy patronage in medieval Ireland. The buildings are grouped around an open cloister, three sides consist of vaulted chambers with a church on the remaining side topped by a bell tower. The kitchen, dining hall and dormitories were located at the first floor level. The abbey has an intact double piscina topped by angels carved in stone, this is a recess with a stone basin for washing sacred vessels used during religious ceremonies. In the late sixteenth century, the abbeys of Rosserk, Moyne and Rathfran, were sacked and burnt by Sir Richard Bingham, English Governor of Connacht. By the 1800’s Rosserk had been abandoned for over two hundred years and walls in many places were on the verge of collapse. In the 1880’s the abbey was taken in to the care of the Commissioners of Public Works who ensured that walls were secured, stonework pointed, and window tracery restored, the original pieces found in the surrounding debris. Works to this National Monument was carried out in Rosserk in 1883, under the direction of the architect, Mr. Thomas Newenham Deane R.H.A.
Further down the river towards the ancient village of Killala, sits the larger and imposing ruin of Moyne Abbey. Set further back from the River Moy, Moyne rests in luxuriant green fields, its high tower can be seen for miles around. The Franciscan Friary of Moyne was founded by Mac William de Burgo in 1455, and the building was consecrated in 1462 by the Bishop of Killala. Moyne once possessed a valuable library being a provincial school of the Franciscan order, together with an infirmary and a mill for grinding corn. A well preserved enclosed cloister exists at the heart of the building, an enclosed walkway where the friars prayed and meditated. The more rudimentary elements of monastic life were also accommodated within the abbey walls, including a kitchen and dining hall, sacristy, chapter house and the dormitories. The monastery was burnt in 1590 by Sir Richard Bingham, the English Governor of Connaught. The friars left after suffering persecution at the hands of Bingham, and the lands of the abbey came into the possession of Edmund Barrett. Later it was owned by an English widow, she allowed the friars to return to the Abbey in 1606, where they remained until 1618. Moyne was later owned by the Lindsay family who demolished part of the monastery with gun powder. In 1718, the abbey came into the possession of the Knox family, Francis Knox, the son of William Knox of Castle Rea, took up residence at Moyne after his marriage to Dorothea Annesley. It is said that during the sacking of the abbey, a soldier by the name of Knox killed the last abbot of Moyne. Parts of the abbey were still habitable and Francis re-modelled a wing of the monastery and lived there. After the Knox family left Moyne, the property was bought by the Kirkwood family who are associated with nearby Bartra Island. In the early 1900’s the predecessors of the OPW carried out works to stabilise the structure, access at this time could only be granted by requesting a key from the caretaker’s cottage. Over the last century, since both monasteries passed into the care of the OPW, their constant care and attention over the decades has ensured that these ancient structures have endured and continue to fascinate all those who visit them.
