Tag Archives: monastic site

HISTORIC church ruins at Clonrush, Whitegate, have been conserved thanks to an initiative between the local community, the council and the National Monuments Service. A socially distanced review of the works was facilitated in recent weeks between members of Whitegate Community Council and the local authority, at the 12th century monastic complex which is dedicated to St Colmán. Restoration works were carried out to safeguard the historic church ruins, which were at risk of collapse and had deteriorated in recent years. The main focus of the conservation works was the ruins of the stone church, but the site also contains many interesting remnants of its ecclesiastical past, including the monks’ house (Tig na mBráthar), original arched entrance gate and a little, stone-roofed oratory known as Poll Cholmáin (St Colmán’s Cave). The churchyard also contains many fine examples of carved memorials and ironwork from the 18th and 19th centuries. The works on the church and the archway gate were carried out …

CLARE TD Michael McNamara has written to the Minister for Tourism, Transport and Sport, Paschal Donoghue calling on him to support and provide financial assistance to Clare County Council to secure the purchase of Inis Cealtra (Holy Island). Inis Cealtra on Lough Derg is included among the early monastic sites on Ireland’s UNESCO Tentative List and is one of the most famous of such sites in Ireland. He highlighted to the minister that among its many attractions are a well preserved round tower, the ruins of six churches and a cell-like structure, which is one of the most extraordinary buildings in Ireland. “A Lough Derg Tourism Audit carried out in 2012 found that Lough Derg is not reaching its full potential in terms of attracting visitors and that Lough Derg has no defined ‘iconic’ visitor attraction that can act as a motivator for visits. “Inis Cealtra, with its iconic round tower, has the potential to be that driver of tourism …