Knocktopher, Co. Kilkenny

Transcription

1 Knocktopher, Co. Kilkenny Carmelite Friary, Knocktopher, Co. Kilkenny The village of Knocktopher lies about twelve miles from Kilkenny on the main road between Kilkenny and Waterford. In 1356 James, the second Earl of Ormonde, gave a site to the Carmelites which is still known as Knocktopher abbey and is now the property of the Langrishe family, across the road from the present church. Two years later the same benefactor, James, gave "the Prior Provincial and Carmelite friars in Ireland a messuage and thirteen acres of land in Knocketokhre... to make a habitation for the Friars of the Order at the said town." Their benefactor was interred in their conventual chapel c In 1374 a very fashionable wedding took place in this Carmelite church. Johanna, the daughter of the Earl of Ormond was married to John, Lord Kerry. The prior, Fr. John Proute, blessed and witnessed the marriage. Twenty-two years later Edward III made a grant to the prior, Henry Brown, of a section of the temporalities of the See of Ossory. This is as much as we know of the affairs of the monastery till its suppression by Henry VIII. Suppression At this time the monastery had, I think, the largest possessions held by any Carmelite monastery in this country. Various holdings of land came to about 214 acres, part of which was arable, part was pasture and mountain. The "extent" also mentions a church chapel, cloister, dormitory and two small bells. The prior at the dissolution was named William.

2 In 1542 it was granted to Robert Eustace and Thomas Barnewall for Seventeen years later a pardon was granted to Sir James Botiller, Earl of Ormond and Ossory and Sir Nicholas White of Portrane, Master of Rolls, "for alienating the possessions of the late House of Carmelite Friars of Knocktopher". In 1677 the property passed from the White family to the Sandfords and was later bought from these by the Langrishe family. The archives of the Province have a chalice with the inscription: "This chalice belonged to the Carmelite monastery of Knocktopher. It was used by the Fathers to say Mass in caves and in the mountains. May it be a reminder of that unhappy but glorious period 1571." Fr. William's Petition In 1645 Fr. William of St. Patrick took possession of the suppressed Abbey, which was used as an ale house. He was forcibly ejected by "Thomas White and sixty others who scaled the walls and threatened the friars with death". At the Confederation of Kilkenny the Order was represented by Fr. William, who in all probability was responsible for the following petition addressed to the papal nuncio Rinucinni: "Eighty years have now passed since our Fathers in Ireland were either driven out or slain. The glory of Carmel was destroyed and the Order of Our Blessed Virgin Mary made desolate and abolished, till at last, it pleased the divine mercy to choose a small band to take possession of our ancient monasteries and to restore our ruined Order, the General taking into account the conditions of the times and of this kingdom. "It happened, however, that the old enemy of the human race, jealous of so great a good, took care that this little flock should not only not be received but should be driven out by those dwelling there, although almost all other Mendicant Orders, and many even of the monks, had resumed possession of their monasteries. For there rose up against us impious men, unmindful of God and His own, who, by force of arms, drove us forth from our monastery at Knocktopher of which we had taken possession once again. Thomas White, with sixty others, scaled the walls by means of ladders, and threatened us with death itself. "We have petitioned His illustrious Lordship, the Bishop of Ossory, and the Supreme Council, but from these we have received neither remedy nor consolation. We are now at a loss

3 as to how to proceed further with the matter. We have offered to pay an annual rent for our church and monastery, but we have gained nothing. Like fugitives, we are forced to run hither and thither not having whereon to lay our heads, although our monasteries in Ireland number more than twenty-four. These are mostly in Catholic hands but are closed to us. "Since we cannot lead the monastic and regular life which we have all vowed to God unless we have a monastery, we determined to build a cottage near our monastery in Knocktopher, where we might dwell together and devote our lives to the service of the Mother of God in accordance with our vows. This we were enabled to do by selling whatever alms we received. We even sold the meagre supply of food which we could procure in order to pay the owner of the place. This we can no longer do since the alms are not forthcoming. "Wherefore, Illustrious Lord, there remains to us only recourse to you as our refuge, that seeing our miserable condition, you may stretch forth a helping hand and use your influence in obtaining for us at least our monastery at Knocktopher and its gardens. We are willing to renounce all claim to the meadows and lands. "We make this petition especially as the above mentioned Thomas White has no other use for it except as a brewery and ale-house." Missionary Life At this period (1645) the only Carmelites we know of in Ireland were in the district Waterford-Knocktopher- Clonmel and possibly also in Ballinasmale, Co. Mayo (3 miles from Knock). Fr. William travelled around and left instructions in France to send his letters to the Franciscan guardian of Clonmel. In a letter to the Carmelite provincial of Touraine he says that Carmelite priests coming to Ireland must bring everything that is needed for Mass chalice, albs, linen, missal and he asks for a picture of the Holy Redeemer for Knocktopher which had the title St. Saviour's. Waterford was most probably the port of entry for these missionaries from Touraine.

4 Present Church The Carmelites, however, did not succeed in settling in Knocktopher as the Cromwellian invasion followed in a few years. Tradition states that after the battle of the Boyne (1690), the Carmelites had a chapel cum residence in a 10 acre close in Rathliuch near Knocktopher, where they lived and ministered for many years till they moved to Knocktopher village. When records begin again we find Fr. Peter Prendergast prior there in About this time there was a small chapel with rooms for the priest adjoining it, situated in front of the present church. This was used until the present church was built towards the middle of the nineteenth century. Fr. Geraghty There is a plaque in Knocktopher bearing the inscription: "Here lie the remains of Rev. Hugh Geraghty, died 5th September 1820, aged 103, and Rev. M. Reynolds. R.I.P." This opens up wistful vistas of a very old Carmelite who ministered probably from about 1740 till The pity is that we have very little detail of his life. In 1831, Fathers Parr and O'Keeffe administered the last rites to the dead and dying after the battle of Carrigshock. Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator, when preparing the case for the accused, is said to have stayed at the friary. The present church the stones were drawn in a single day was built by Fr. Eugene Cullen, and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception in The ceremony of consecration (1843) was performed by the Most Rev. Dr. O'Connor, archbishop of Saldes. It was the first church, after the Reformation, to be consecrated in Ossory. Vocations Among the few documents which remain to us from the opening years of the last century are the Reception and Profession Book of the Spanish Province where Irish Carmelites were received and professed in the Order. Quite a few vocations came from Co. Kilkenny and mostly from the district round Knocktopher: Thomas O'Keeffe of Knocktopher was received into the Order in Spain on June 25th, 1818; Malachy Butler on June I3th, 1824; Martin Carroll on December 26th, 1824; Michael Tobin of Kilkenny city on the same day and Nicholas Power of Danesfort on September I2th, 1825.

5 School Great emphasis was laid on the necessity of secondary education at the synod of Thurles in The Holy Father, Pius IX, had expressed a desire for a Catholic University in Ireland similar to that in Louvain in Belgium. Hence, it was natural that efforts should be made to supplement the education given in the primary schools so that pupils could attain the standard desired for a university education. This need was met chiefly by the religious Orders and the diocesan colleges. Knocktopher opened its College of the Immaculate Conception in January, 1852, and had a very large roll for 1853 and and 94 respectively. In the following years its average was By 1862 the college could be proud of his efforts. The following is an extract from a letter written by a member of the community to a benefactor in England: "It is now but ten and a half years since we commenced our collegiate labours, and the following are the results. We have given to the priesthood eleven priests who are distributed for the various parts of the world as follows: The Rev. Thomas Henneberry, Newfoundland; Rev. James Foynes, New Zealand; Rev. James Walsh, Dublin; Rev. P. Power, Belfast; Rev. Malachy Kelly, Belfast; Rev. Joseph Moore, London; Rev. John Moore, Liverpool; Rev. James Holehan, Tasmania; Rev. Robert Raftice, Nova Scotia; Rev. Richard Gorman, Waterford. Subdeacons - Rev. James D'Arcy, New Jersey; Rev. James Raftice, Ossory. Minor Orders-Messrs. Edward Walsh for Tasmania; Thomas Barry, England; James Holehan, Ossory; James Walsh for the Order of St. Francis. Besides these there is a large number at present in progress towards Holy Orders in the colleges of Rome, Paris, Maynooth, Carlow and St. Kieran's, Kilkenny." This seminary was affiliated to the Catholic University in The Carmelite Order also had many vocations from the college especially from 1863 onwards. Eight or ten of these were pioneers in the work of establishing the Order in America from 1868 till the turn of the century. The school was closed c as the Carmelite schools in Dublin were claiming a great section of the teaching staff of the province and local needs were being met by St. Kieran's College.

6 The Church A new church had been built shortly after Emancipation. A quarter of a century later it was redecorated, in "The Freeman's Journal" carried this account on September 9th of that year: "This beautiful church of the Carmelites at Knocktopher, County Kilkenny, has during the last two months, undergone a perfect renovation under the guidance and taste of the Very Rev. Abbe Scally and the great artistic skill of Mr. Kenny, painter and decorator, of Thomastown, and brother to that distinguished portrait painter, the late Nicholas Kenny, Esq., of Dublin, whose painting of the Irish House of Commons, on the occasion of Grattan's grand oration for Irish independence, elicits the admiration of all who look upon its splendid pencillings of a nation's throb for a nation's rights. It would be difficult to find in any rural district in Ireland a church to compete in elegance and richness of all that belongs to the sacred rites of the Catholic Church with the Carmelite Church of the venerable locality of Knocktopher." The Community was never more than four and in 1868 two were priests and two were deacons. The prior at this time was Fr. Bruton who was transferred to the Carmelite mission in Wales and died there in Another very likeable Carmelite of this period was Fr. Tom Davis who was prior there till On leaving the monastery to come to the provincial chapter he wrote in the account book: "Farewell, Knocktopher. May the angels watch thy interests." In 1934 the Mass Rock used by the friars at Carrigshock during the Penal Times was mounted in the newly extended church grounds by Fr. Peter E. O'Dwyer, who also erected new altars, stained glass windows and the pulpit in the church. Sixteen years later a shrine containing the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in carved oak by an Italian master was added by Fr. Elliott. Knocktopher has given us many outstanding Carmelites in this century also who have worked and are working in Ireland, England and America and on the missions. The church has been very tastefully renovated and deserves a visit from the passing traveller on the road from Waterford to Kilkenny.

7 I am not an old wall I am a milestone in the history of devotion Once I was a Carmel Now I am a souvenir of a great light that will not fade.