Mainistir Bhealach Conglais / Baltinglass Abbey
Mainistir Bhealach Conglais
Ba é Diarmaid mac Murchú, an rí ar Laighean a bhain cáil amach dó féin nuair a thug sé na hAngla-Normannaigh go hÉirinn i 1169, a bhunaigh an mhainistir Chirstéirseach seo i 1148 mar chraobhtheach den Mhainistir Mhór.
Bheadh réimse leathan tithe sa mhainistir mar a mbíodh na manaigh ag obair agus ina gcónaí, ach níl mórán fanta díobh inniu cés moite den eaglais. Sna 1150dí tógadh an ceann thoir, a bhfuil cléirtheach cearnach agus péire croslann ann a bhfuil séipéil bheaga astu. Níor tógadh an corp, an phríomhchuid den eaglais, go dtí na 1160dí. Tá mullaigh na bpiliúr ollmhór cearnógach agus cruinn rímhaisithe le gréasáin theibí. Is cosúil gur oibrigh na saoir chloiche agus na dealbhadóirí a bhí freagrach as an obair seo i Mainistir Sheireapúin níos déanaí, áit a bhfuil saothar an-chosúil leis an saothar i mBealach Conglais.
Díscaoileadh an mhainistir i 1536 mar chuid d'fheachtas Anraí VIII chun smacht a fháil ar mhaoin na mainistreacha. Sa bhliain 1815 tógadh eaglais Phrotastúnach i bhfothracha an chléirthí, ach éiríodh as a húsáid i 1883. Níl fanta anois ach
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Diarmait Mac Murchadha, the king of Leinster renowned for bringing the Anglo-Normans to Ireland in 1169, founded this Cistercian abbey in 1148 as a daughter house of Mellifont.
The monastery would once have had a whole range of domestic buildings where the monks lived and worked, but little remains today apart from the church. Its eastern end, which has a square-ended presbytery and a pair of transepts from which small chapels project, was built in the 1150s. The nave, or main part of the church, was not built until the 1160s. The capitals at the tops of the massive square and circular piers are highly decorated with abstract designs. The masons and sculptors responsible for these carvings appear to have been given a later commission at Jerpoint Abbey in Co.Kilkenny, where the work is very similar to that of Baltinglass.
In 1536 the abbey was dissolved (closed) as part of Henry VIIIs campaign to control the wealth of the monasteries. In 1815 a Protestant church was inserted into the ruins of the presbytery, but it fell out of use in 1883; only its tower remains.
Baltinglass—from Bealach Conglais (Cú Ghlas's road)
[Left illustration caption reads]
Reconstruction of Nave Interior.
Erected by Dúchas 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Churches & Religion • Man-Made Features.
Location. 52° 56.625′ N, 6° 42.615′ W. Marker is in Baltinglass, Leinster, in County Wicklow. Marker is on Church Lane, 0.3 kilometers north of Main Street (Leinster Route R747), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 8 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Private Michael McGuinn (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Michael Dwyer, Sam MacAllister, and the Insurrectionists (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Jennie Wyse Power (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Kevin Gerard Barry (approx. 7 kilometers away); Rathvilly (approx. 7 kilometers away); Doyle Family Shoeing Stone (approx. 7 kilometers away); The Rathvilly Rose (approx. 7.1 kilometers away); Ciorcal Cloch le Claífort Chaisleán an Ridire (approx. 7.3 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltinglass.
Also see . . .
1. Baltinglass Cistercian Abbey. (Submitted on June 29, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Baltinglass Abbey. (Submitted on June 29, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 29, 2019. It was originally submitted on June 29, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 139 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on June 29, 2019, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
