Fuerty
Fuerty (historically Fewerty, from Irish: Fiodharta, meaning "high wood")[1] is a townland and civil parish on the R366 regional road near the town of Roscommon in County Roscommon, Ireland. Fuerty is known for a ruined church and ancient graveyard on the site of a Celtic Christian abbey.
Fuerty Fiodharta | |
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Village | |
 Fuerty church and graveyard | |
  Fuerty Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°37′00″N 8°16′00″W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Roscommon |
| Elevation | 75 m (246 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | M834574 |
Church and graveyard
It is said that Saint Patrick visited Fuerty and left a deacon to found a monastic settlement here. The deacon, Justus, baptised Saint Ciarán, a local man around the year 500. Ciaran went on to found Clonmacnoise, which became one of the most important monasteries and centres of learning in Europe.
Two 8th century granite grave slabs in the west side of the tower bear inscriptions that can still be read. One of them bears the name of Ardeachan, Abbot of Clonmacnoise. The abbey was attacked and destroyed by the English Elizabethan invaders and all its monks were slain. Later, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, it was reported that Cromwellian troops, under the leadership of (Robert?) Ormsby, killed more than one hundred elderly clergy at Fuerty abbey.[2]
The existing ruins are of a 17th-century Church of Ireland. The tower was added in 1790 but the church was destroyed by fire in 1870.
References
- Placenames Database of Ireland (see archival records)
- Skeffington
See also
Places in County Roscommon | ||
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| Towns |
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| Villages and Townlands |
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