BY JOHN FITZGERALD
Duiske Abbey stands as a monument to Ireland’s long association with monastic orders. It has the distinction of being the largest Cistercian church in the country and one of the first Gothic structures to appear on the Irish landscape. In recent years, it has become renowned for the quality of its world acclaimed musical recitals.
The abbey is also a masterpiece of restoration. Remnants of the original 13th Century tiled floor can still be detected, and a magnificent oak roof shelters all who worship within its hallowed walls. A beautifully crafted Romanesque door can be seen on the South Transept. In the abbey grounds you can admire the monks’ creative genius in the form of two granite High crosses, dating to the 8th and 9th centuries.
In about 1204, Cistercian monks founded the abbey, after the Normans introduced this hard working, agriculturally motivated spiritual order to Ireland. The settlement that grew up around these industrious men came to be known as Graige-na managh-the Village of the Monks, a name it has retained to this day.
The abbey was ideally situated close to the Black Water, a small stream that flows into the River Barrow.
The story of the abbey began 24 years earlier, in 1180, when the powerful Irish Chieftain, Dermot O’ Ryan, declared his intention to build a monastery at the site dedicated to “God, Saint Mary, and Benedict.” His ambition was not realized, however, owing to complex political and military events arising from the Norman invasion of Ireland.
But the Normans proved equally committed to the promotion of Christianity, and the Cistercian Order was encouraged to create a settlement at what became the village of Graiguenamanagh. A wooden cross was hoisted and work began on the building of St. Saviour’s Cistercian Abbey. It took thirty years to build the Monastery.
The fifty or so monks who moved in to the abbey upon its completion put their agricultural prowess to good use from day one, raising huge flocks of sheep and running a woollen mill from which wool was exported to the Continent. And they harvested salmon and eels from the river.
For three centuries, the abbey and the farm thrived, bringing both economic and spiritual nourishment to the Village of the Monks. But in 1536, King Henry VIII dissolved the abbeys of Ireland. The great abbey of Duiske fell into disrepair and the kindly monks were forced to flee for their lives. But they returned at a later date to resume their valued service to the community.
However, it was not until the 1970s that restoration of the church began, and what you see today is a tribute both to the Cistercian Order and the enterprising spirit of locals who saw to it that their unique heritage would be valued and preserved for future generations.
And the abbey’s musical image is worth a mention. I particularly enjoyed a performance 22 years ago by Joe Burke, who revived interest in the accordion, and the haunting sound of the uilleann pipes played by Michael Cooney, a talented Kilkenny musician. The orchestral works performed at the abbey have an added appeal thanks to the medieval aura of “a time beyond recall” that pervades the building.
Even old King Henry VIII, who had an ear for music, might have thought twice about shutting down the abbey if had heard a recital at Duiske!
