Monasteries

In the years 1537, 1538, and 1541, various Acts of Parliament were passed for the suppression of religious houses in Ireland, and during the reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Elizabeth, all the abbeys, monasteries, priories, convents, etc., were abolished: their extensive lands and endowments were confiscated and seized by the Crown, and the abbey and church lands, and Erenach lands (all of which were denominated Termon lands), were conferred in large grants on laymen, chiefly the nobility and gentry of the country. Numerous colleges, seminaries, and schools attached to the abbeys, were also suppressed, and likewise the hospitals and Biatachs. The “Biatachs” were charitable institutions or houses of hospitality, and are frequently mentioned in the course of the Annals of the Four Masters; the name in the Irish is Biadhtach (derived from “biadh:” Irish, food, and “teach,” a house, and hence), signifying “houses of entertainment;” and the lands appropriated for their maintenance were termed Baile Biadhtaigh (anglicised “Ballybetagh,”[1] that is the townland of the Biatach; and the name Biatach or Betach, was likewise applied to the keepers of those houses, who were sometimes laymen, and sometimes ecclesiastics—many of whom are recorded by the “Four Masters.” These Biatachs were amply endowed with grants of lands, cattle, sheep, etc., by the Irish princes and chiefs, for the public entertainment of all travellers and strangers; the sick, the poor, and indigent. These houses of hospitality were extremely numerous in all parts of the country in ancient times; and it is estimated that there were at least two thousand of them throughout Ireland—one or more generally in every parish. These houses were generally erected at cross-roads, always well supplied with provisions and meat boiled in large cauldrons; and supplies of various kinds were always kept ready cooked for all comers.

At the Reformation, according to Ware’s works, and Archdall’s Monasticon, there were in Ireland five hundred and sixty-three monasteries of the various orders; the respective numbers of which are separately given by Archdall and Ware.

The abbots of the following monasteries were mitred abbots, who, together with the priors here mentioned (making in all twenty-four) sat amongst the lords, barons, and bishops, as spiritual peers in the Irish Parliament, according to Ware and others: The abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Mellifont, in the county Louth, the first of that order founded in Ireland, in the twelfth century. The abbot of the Cistercians of Bective, in Meath. The abbot of the Cistercians of Baltinglass, in Wicklow. The abbot of the Cistercians of Dunbrody, in Wexford. The abbot of the Cistercians of Tintern, in Wexford. The abbot of the Cistercians of Jerpoint, in Kilkenny. The abbot of the Cistercians of Douske, in Kilkenny. The abbot of the Cistercians of Tracton, in Cork. The abbot of the Cistercians of Monaster-Nenay, in Limerick. The abbot of the Cistercians of Abington or Wotheney, in Limerick. The abbot of the Cistercians of Holy-Cross, in Tipperary. The abbot of the Cistercians of Monaster-Evin, in Kildare. The abbot of the Cistercians of Mary’s-Abbey, in the city of Dublin. The abbot of the Augustinians of St. Thomas the Martyr, in Dublin. The prior of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, at Kilmainham, in Dublin. The prior of the Augustinians of the Holy Trinity of Christ Church, Dublin. The prior of the Augustinians of All Saints, in Dublin—now Trinity College. The prior of the Augustinians of SS. Peter and Paul, of Newtown, near Trim, in Meath. The prior of the Augustinian monastery of the Virgin Mary, at Louth. The prior of the Benedictines of Downpatrick, in Down. The prior of the Augustinians of Great Connall, in Kildare. The prior of the Augustinians of Kells, in Kilkenny. The prior of the Augustinians of Athassel, in Tipperary. The prior of the Augustinians of Rattoo, in Kerry.

Notes

[1] Ballybetagh: A quarter of land, generally containing one hundred and twenty acres, was the fourth part of a Ballybetagh, which was the thirtieth part of a triochached or barony.

The Irish word Betagh is the origin of the sirnames Beatty, Beattie, and Beytagh.