Mysterious Monument St. Com퐚́n’s Church, Roscommon. By Vincent Delany History: St. Comá n’s Church, which celebrates it’s 250th anniversary in 2020 is said to be located on the site of the 6th century St. Comá n’s monastery. What do we know of St Com푎́ n’s monastery? In c. 1140 the monastery adopted Augustinian rules. It was later rededicated to St. Mary. Was it a substantial monastery with several single cell buildings? The exact extent or layout of those buildings has not been identified, although some small elements from that campus still exist. Figure 1. The date of the construction of the present Roscommon church (1770?) is crudely carved on an ancient stone forming the reveal to a window on the west side of the tower, high above street level. 1 National Monument Record 1. Record Number: RO039-043006- Classification: Religious house - Augustinian Canons Scheduled for Protection: 1 Description: Situated on a gentle south-east-facing slope within Roscommon town. The monastery was founded by St Comán, supposedly a disciple of St Finnian of Clonard, in the 6th century. Comán was a son of Faolchú and is reliably connected with the Dál nAraidhe of north-east Ulster. He died in 747 and his feast-day is celebrated on 26th December. The 'Law of St Comán' was proclaimed over much of Connaught in 771, 779 and 792 (Ó’Rian, 2011, 216-7). The monastery may have been raided by the Vikings in 807 (AU, 263), but this is unlikely. However, it was burnt in 823 and again in 1134. The processional cross known as ‘The Cross of Cong’ was made for this church, possibly at the church, in 1123 as a gift from Turlough O'Conor. The church became the diocesan centre after the Synod of Kells in 1152, but this honour had been moved to Elphin (RO016-127001-) by 1172. The Augustinian Rule was adopted c. 1140, and the church continued in use as an Augustinian house until the Dissolution, although the dedication may have changed to St. Mary's in the 13th century when it might also have had a community of nuns. Coarbs (ed. succession from the founder of a religious institution) continue into the thirteenth century at least. It was plundered by the de Burgos in 1204 and 1260, and was burnt in 1235 and 1247 and 1360 (Gwynne and Hadcock 1970, 191-2, 323). After the monastery was suppressed c. 1540 its land was granted to Sir Nicholas Malby (Hoare 2014), who transformed the Castle (RO039- 043006-) into the fortified house (RO039-043010-) also on the site today. The monastery consisted of at least one stone church and a round tower, which was burnt in 1050 by the men of Breiffne (AFM vol. 2, 859). It is described as a ruined church, hall and cloister in 1578 (Bradley and Dunne 1988a, 97-8). It was centred on the site now occupied by the Church of Ireland church of St. Comán, which was built in the 18th century and where some fragments of transitional 12th century masonry (RO039- 043008-) are incorporated into the tower. The head of a 13th century lancet window is kept within the church. The present E gable has a three-light decorated window, much of which is original, while internally its embrasure has a decorated surround with pinnacles, dating from c. 1450. Inside the church there is a wall memorial to the Gunnings of Castlecoote dated 1717 that might have been moved from Fuerty church (RO039-063001-), and to Lovelaces of Ballybride dated 1723. There is also a wall 2 memorial (RO039-043017-) dated 1696 to John and Catherine Fleming of Roscommon, although it may have been moved to here. An inscribed slab (dims 0.93m x 0.41-0.65m; T 0.06-0.15m) (RO039-043009-) which dates to the 9th century asks for a blessing on Ioseph and is now in the Roscommon County Museum. A cross-slab (RO039-043016-) (dims 1m x 0.7m; max. T 0.13m) decorated with the stem of a cross and traces of ring also has a panel of interlace and roundels at the edge of the stone (Siggins, 1996; Barton 1996). The latter was moved to a position against the S wall of the present church in 2013. Both were found in the rectangular graveyard (RO039- 043007-) (dims c. 80m E-W; c. 45m N-S) which also contains fragments of the masonry of a large Gothic window, and a cross-slab (RO039-043028-) with a crudely-incised Latin cross and a single-line ring is used as a grave-marker. Human bones were uncovered in Goff St. to the E c. 1917. The holy well of St. Comán's Vat (RO039-047--- -) is c. 600m to the NW. Compiled by: Michael Moore, Date of revised upload: 17 Dec. 2014. Potential Original Appearance of St Com퐚́ n’s Monastery Roscommon. Figure 2. Did St Coman's Monastery look similar to this with more than one church of different dates, surrounded by an enclosing wall or bank, with funeral graves around the churches, and residential buildings around the perimeter of the campus? Evidence as to the exact layout of the Roscommon monastery has not yet been established. From its foundation until it became an Augustinian House, the layout of the buildings would have adhered to the tradition of the altar facing east, but to no other regulating force. The 3 general pattern for monasteries followed the pattern shown in fig. 2 above, but Roscommon may have been smaller with less buildings than is shown above. When Roscommon became an Augustinian house in the 12th century, it was perhaps at that time the cloister described above was built. The condition of the Monastery in 1581. Sir Nicholas Malby’s proposal for the town of Roscommon was intended to show how the defensive castle and a new walled town could coexist. The plan appears to show some pre- existing buildings, such as the castle, tower and church which were to be retained as part of the overall town plan. He shows a wall enclosing the churchyard built in close proximity to the walls of the church - such walls were probably a proposal, and did not exist at that time. The text on the drawing reads ‘Church & churchyard’. It would be necessary to see the original of Malby’s plan in the British National Archives (Kew) (ref: MPF 1/95) in order to glean more about the design of the church at that time. The drawing of the church shows it to be two stories high, with a higher tower. There is a large central door at ground floor level and two Romanesque round headed windows at first floor level. The tower appears to be an open structure with a large aperture, in which is suspended a large bell. This pattern is commonly seen in early Irish Romanesque church buildings of mortared Figure 3. Sir Nicholas Malby's proposal for the retention of the old church outside the walls of his new town of Roscommon. stone such as St Begnet’s Church, Dalkey Island, but in Roscommon the bell structure is of a larger scale. The roof finish is unclear, so it may be concealed behind the parapets. It is unclear if grave-marking memorial stones are indicated in the churchyard between the church and surrounding wall. 4 The Dissolution of Monasteries. In 1533, when Henry 8th tried to marry Anne Boleyn, the Roman Catholic church forbade him from doing so, because he was already married. Henry VIII found no way to get around this, other than removing the right of the church to prevent him. So, he declared that the Pope was no longer head of the Church in England, and made himself head instead. This meant that it was he, not the Pope, that had the final word on church matters in England and Ireland. In 1536, the Church in Ireland was ordered to recognise Henry VIII as head of the Church. Henry VIII proceeded to dissolve all Irish monasteries – some of which had existed for over eleven centuries. He then sold the monastic lands and scattering the Monks. In the case of Roscommon, the church buildings and lands were sold to Sir Nicholas Malby. The Monks had nursed the sick and cared for the poor in the local communities, and this service was ended. The status of the Monastery / Roscommon Parish Church of the Established Church in 1736. Francis Plunkett drew his map in 1736, based on his own survey of the town of Roscommon. The object of the map was to show the various tenancies held by the owners of the town, who at that time were the three living daughters of the Earl of Ranelagh: 1)Lady Catherine Jones (d. 1740) 2) Lady Frances Coningesby (1707-1781), and 3) Margaret Countess Coningesby, (1709-1761). None of them had ever visited the town, but they had local agents to attend to their estates. The map shows the pressure which had been put on the churchyard by the various sub- landlords with holdings on My Ladies Lane (later Goff Street) and Church Street. Excavations of the houses and gardens on the west side of Goff Street in 1917, revealed bones, indicating that the churchyard was more extensive prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 16th. cent. 5 Churchyard Church . My Ladies Lane (now Goff Street). Church Street Figure 4. Francis Plunkett’s map of Roscommon Church and churchyard (32) 1736. The rectangular church building is quite modest, with a door on the north side and two large vertical windows and one smaller window beside the door.