archaeological & built heritage assessment - The Heritage Council

early decades of the 1100s it did not effect a widespread or significant change in the size or structure of
Irish churches; rather, the Romanesque features were simply integrated into the long established,
indigenous architectural format (O’Keeffe 2000). An attempt to bring the practices of the Irish Church
into line with the Church elsewhere in Europe began in the twelfth century when a series of synods and
councils were set up. This reform brought to Ireland a system of dioceses; the early medieval Irish church
already had bishops for sacramental duties, but now there was a territorial framework in which bishops
could exercise power over clergy (ibid.). The geography of the Irish dioceses generally reflected that of
local and regional secular power. The establishment of new dioceses required new cathedral churches and
either the rank of an existing church was changed or a new building erected.
The study area within the scope of this project encompasses several ecclesiastical centres including
Church Island, Lough Key where the Annals of Loch Cé were written, Trinity Island, also in Lough Key and
Tumna, on the shores of Drumharlow Lake. Furthermore there are a series of church sites dating to this
period throughout the study area such as at Annaduff, Tarmon and Inishmacgrath Island, as well as
examples that became established in certain areas during the Later Medieval period. The establishment of
many of these religious sites suggests not only was the waterways corridor densely populated during this
period, it was also a thriving economic region of significant importance.
During the late twelfth/early thirteenth century there was a transitional period in Irish church architecture
between Romanesque and Gothic styles. The first Gothic works in Ireland date from the very end of the
twelfth century, but the great masterpieces of the style were cathedrals and monastic churches, which the
Anglo-Normans built as their colony took shape early in the thirteenth century. The building of churches
in the Gothic style in Ireland then continued throughout the 1200s and into the early 1300s, but the
second half of the fourteenth century saw a fall-away in new construction before a re-boost in building
during the 1400s. Local parish churches, cathedrals and monastic churches continued to be built under
Anglo-Norman patronage while the friary was introduced early in the thirteenth century. Dominican friars
appeared in 1224, followed by the Franciscans in 1231, by Carmelites around 1270, and by Augustinians
friars in 1282. There are no known records of friaries having existed within the study area.
The post-medieval period (AD 1600 - Present)
The sixteenth century was a turbulent time in Irish political matters, especially in Ulster. A new order of
Irish lordships emerged as previous English settlements were almost eliminated. During the later sixteenth
century the Irish lords came into bitter conflict with England when the Tudor kings and queens,
particularly Elizabeth I, were determined to assert (or re-assert) English control tightly over Ireland. The
resulting wars, in which Ulster figured largely in the form of the O’Neill’s and O’Donnell’s, from the 1560s
to 1603, bring this unsettled period to an end.
After the turbulent times of the previous century, the eighteenth century was a time of prosperity for
newly established Protestant gentry and landowners in Ireland. The success of the Protestant cause and
the effective obliteration of political opposition brought to the country a century of peace. From 1691
until the Rebellion of 1798, Ireland witnessed few dramatic events. Throughout the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries, there was the development of high and low status housing and urban settlements
throughout Ireland. In particular local landlords improved their estates and built residences for
themselves. There were many country houses built along the waterways corridor during this period
including the Rockingham estate, Strokestown house and King’s house in Boyle.
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