Kilbennen

Kilbennen or Kilbannon is a medieval ecclesiastical site and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.[1][2]

Kilbennen
Cill Bheanáin
Location within Ireland
Monastery information
Other namesKilbannon; Kilbennan; Cell-beneoin; Dun Lughaid
OrderFranciscans (15th century)
Establishedlate 5th century AD
Disestablished15th/16th century
DioceseTuam
People
Founder(s)Benignus of Armagh
Architecture
Statusruined
StyleCeltic
Site
LocationPollacorragune, Tuam, County Galway
Coordinates53.538801°N 8.892219°W / 53.538801; -8.892219
Visible remainsChurch and round tower
Public accessyes
National Monument of Ireland
Official nameKilbennen Church & Round Tower
Reference no.48

Location

Kilbennen is located 3.7 km (2.3 mi) northwest of Tuam, on the far side of the River Clare.[3]

History

The monastery here was founded by Benignus of Armagh (Benin, Benen, Bennan), a disciple of Saint Patrick,[4] in the 5th century AD, although the Book of Armagh associates it with a different Benignus, of the Luighne Connacht.[5] Iarlaithe mac Loga (Saint Jarlath) studied here in the 6th century.[6]

The Annals of the Four Masters record the burning of Kilbennen in 1114.[7] In 1148 they record the death of Ceallach Ua Domhnagain, "noble head of Cill-Beneoin."[8]

The Franciscans built a church c. 1428.[9]

Some conservation work was done in 1880–81.

Ruins and monuments
Round tower with doorway visible.
East gable window, now blocked up.

The limestone round tower is badly damaged and stands 16.5 m (54 ft) tall at its highest point and 4.8 m (16 ft) in diameter. It has a sandstone doorway 4.56 m (15.0 ft) off the ground.[10]

Both gables are standing on the church. The east gable had a twin-light cusped ogee-headed window.[11]

A holy well is located to the northwest, where Bennin is said to have healed nine lepers.[12]

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References
  1. https://www.tripadvisor.ie/Attraction_Review-g211934-d8733467-Reviews-Kilbannon_Church_Ruins-Tuam_County_Galway_Western_Ireland.html
  2. MacNeill, Máire (1 January 2008). "The festival of Lughnasa: a study of the survival of the Celtic festival of the beginning of harvest". Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann – via Google Books.
  3. Association, Irish Tourist (8 April 2018). "Official Guide to Connacht". Irish Tourist Assoc – via Google Books.
  4. Ireland, Royal Society of Antiquaries of (8 April 2018). "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society – via Google Books.
  5. "The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society. 8 April 2018 – via Google Books.
  6. "Kilbannon". dúchas.ie.
  7. "Part 22 of Annals of the Four Masters". celt.ucc.ie.
  8. "Part 25 of Annals of the Four Masters". celt.ucc.ie.
  9. "Great Britain and Ireland, a Phaidon Cultural Guide". Prentice-Hall. 8 April 1985 – via Google Books.
  10. Schorr, Frank. "Kilbennen Irish Round Tower". www.roundtowers.org.
  11. http://www.megalithicireland.com/Kilbennan%20%20Round%20Tower.html
  12. Bourke, Ulick Joseph (8 April 1876). The Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and Language: The Round Towers, the Brehon Law, Truth of the Pentateuch. Longmans, Green. p. 408 – via Internet Archive. Kilbennen benignus.
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