Graiguenamanagh
| Graiguenamanagh Irish: Gráig na Manach | |
| County Kilkenny | |
|---|---|
 Graiguenamanagh and the River Barrow | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | S705440 |
| Location: | 52°32’24"N, 6°57’18"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 1,506 (2022) |
| Local Government | |
| Dáil constituency: |
Carlow–Kilkenny |
Graiguenamanagh or Graignamanagh is a small town in the very east of County Kilkenny, on the River Barrow which marks the border of County Carlow. Across the river in Carlow, and effectively part of Graiguenamanagh , is Tinnahinch
The town is in a townland of the same name.[1] The name is from Gráig na Manach, meaning 'Valley (or village) of the monks'.
The town is located at the foot of Brandon Hill. Here is Duiske Abbey, the largest of the thirty-four mediæval Cistercian abbeys in Ireland.
History
Ecclesiastical sites
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include an ecclesiastical enclosure and holy well sites in the townlands of Graiguenamanagh and Tinnahinch.[2][3] St. Caelán reputedly founded a monastery at Tinnahinch during the 6th or 7th century.[4]
Also located in the area are the ruined remains of the early Christian Ullard Church|church of Ullard, founded by Saint Fiachra in the seventh century. Several miles downstream from Graiguenamanagh are the ruins of an ancient monastic establishment at St Mullin's.
Duiske Abbey
Based on an earlier settlement, much of Graiguenamanagh developed around the early 13th-century Duiske Abbey.[5] The abbey, which takes its name from the river Duiske (Blackwater) which joins the Barrow here, was founded by William Marshall in 1204 and was suppressed by Henry VIII in 1536.[6] Some remains of the monastery exist to the rear of the houses that line the east side of Lower Main Street.
The abbey's large "Early English" Gothic church was restored in the 1980s,[7] and it is now the Catholic parish church in Graiguenamanagh.[8] In its northern aisle is a model which shows the monastery as it was in the fourteenth century.
Economic development
The River Barrow, historically a transport route, was developed as a commercial navigation during the 18th century.[9] Graiguenamanagh Bridge, a seven-arched limestone bridge spanning the River Barrow, was built in 1764.[10]
Graiguenamanagh served as a base for commercial barges operating on the river until barge traffic ceased in 1959.[9] These barges were later replaced by pleasure craft.
Sport and recreation
Watersports, angling,[11] walking and cycling (including on the Barrow towpath) are common activities in the Graiguenamanagh area.[citation needed] The Barrow's aquatic facilities include fishing, swimming, kayaking, and canoeing.
The South Leinster Way, a long-distance trail, runs across the Barrow Valley and nearby Brandon Hill.[12][11]
- Gaelic sports: Graignamanagh GAA
There is a series of statues of monks in Graiguenamanagh, including several which depict the activities traditionally carried out by the Cistercian monks of Duiske Abbey.[citation needed] There is also a public library in the center of town.[13] The Abbey Centre, beside the library, is home to an art gallery and a small museum.[citation needed]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Graiguenamanagh) |
References
- ↑ Gráig na Manach / Graiguenamanagh: Placenames Database of Ireland
- ↑ Brindley, A.; Kilfeather, A (1993), Archaeological Inventory of County Carlow
- ↑ Farrelly, J.; O'Reilly, B.; Loughran, A. (1993), Urban archaeological survey - County Kilkenny
- ↑ "Caelan von Tigh-na-manach - Ökumenisches Heiligenlexikon" (in de). https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienC/Caelan_von_Tigh-na-manach.html.
- ↑ "Kilkenny County Council County Development Plan - Volume 2 - Graiguenamanagh Area". Kilkenny County Council. https://www.kilkennycoco.ie/cdp/cdpvol2/vol2/graiguenplan.htm. Retrieved 19 September 2022. "Graiguenamanagh evolved around the extensive Duiske Abbey, an early 12th Century Cistercian foundation [..] in an area which has remains of settlements dating from thousands of years earlier"
- ↑ "Cistercian Abbeys: Duiske (Graiguenamanagh)", Digital Humanities Institute (The University of Sheffield), https://www.dhi.ac.uk/cistercians/abbeys/graiguenamanagh.php
- ↑ "Duiske Abbey". https://villageofthemonks.com/duiskeabbey/. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ↑ "Duiske Abbey". Fáilte Ireland. https://www.discoverireland.ie/kilkenny/duiske-abbey. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 "River Barrow". https://villageofthemonks.com/riverbarrow. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ↑ "Graiguenamanagh Bridge, Graiguenamanagh, Graiguenamanagh, Kilkenny". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/12318004/graiguenamanagh-bridge-graiguenamanagh-graiguenamanagh-kilkenny. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ↑ Jump up to: 11.0 11.1 "Graiguenamanagh, Kilkenny". https://southeastireland.com/pgraiguenamanagh-kilkenny-ireland.html. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ↑ "South Leinster Way". Sport Ireland. https://www.sportireland.ie/outdoors/walking/trails/south-leinster-way. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ↑ "Graiguenamanagh Library". Kilkenny County Council. https://kilkennylibrary.ie/eng/libraries_locations/graiguenamanagh_library/. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- 'Graiguenamanagh:A Town and its People', John Joyce,(Graigue Publications,1993).
- 'The Old Grey Mouse', Sean Swayne, (The Abbey Centre,1995).
- 'Tinnahinch: A Village within a Town', Owen Doyle & Colm Walshe, (Graiguenamanagh Historical Society, 2003).
- 'The O'Leary Footprint' (Philip E. Murphy and J. David Hughes eds), (The O'Leary Archive,2004).
- 'Graiguenamanagh Families', Owen Doyle & Colm Walshe, (Graiguenamanagh Historical Society,2006).
- 'Graiguenamanagh:A Varied Heritage', John Joyce, (Graiguenamanagh Historical Society, 2009)