Jerpoint Abbey

What is Jerpoint Abbey about?

            Jerpoint Abbey was founded in 1160 as a Benedictine abbey by Donogh O’Donoghoe Mac Gilla Patraic, king of Osraige, just before the Norman invasions began. Monks from Baltinglass colonized the monastery in 1180 and converted Jerpoint to a Cistercian abbey. It started out with thirteen monks and eventually expanded to house 86 men. Jerpoint’s original landholdings included over 14,000 acres. Oliver Grace, the last abbot of Jerpoint, surrendered the abbey when Henry VIII began the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1541, Jerpoint was granted to James Butler, the 9^th Earl of Ormond. The Office of Public Works assumed care of Jerpoint in 1880.

(The Belltower at Jerpoint. Credit: Kelly)

Who do we need to remember?

            Donogh O’Donoghoe Mac Gilla Patraic (founder)

            King Henry VIII (Initiated the Dissolution of the Monasteries)

What does Jerpoint Abbey look like? 

            Chapter House is second most important room next to the church. It was the only place where the monks could come together to talk and ask questions. They were only allowed one hour per day in the Chapter House. Only one room in the abbey had heat, and the monks were only allowed in that room for one hour each day. The monks also employed laypeople to help around the abbey and work in the surrounding fields. The bell tower was added at the end of the 14^th century.

            The entire abbey was built as a commune: all of the necessary facilities were enclosed in the walls of the monastery. An open courtyard lay in the center, surrounded by intricately carved stone pillars. The A number of stone carvings, such as effigies of abbots, bishops, and knights adorned the walls and pillars of the abbey, many of which have eroded with time. Under the remains of the vaulted ceiling beneath the bell tower are several stone tombs, many dating from the 15^th and 16^th century. Many of the tombs are adorned with carvings of the twelve Apostles, each with his own symbol. The tombs are a testament to the O’Tunney school of sculpture.  

(The courtyard at Jerpoint Abbey. Credit: Kelly)

Where is Jerpoint Abbey? 

Thomastown, County Kilkenny, Ireland

What does Jerpoint Abbey mean to Ireland in the past and today? 

            The monks employed laypeople at the abbey, indicating a shift from community living to communal living. The monks were not allowed to mingle with the laypeople because they believed that the laypeople would distract them from their routine. The monks at Jerpoint were more legalistic in their practices.

            Jerpoint shows the progression of Irish monastic living. Whereas Glendalough and earlier sites were more city-like, Jerpoint was all in one building. We found the physical differences surprising. The architecture at Jerpoint featured several large arches and was built more for isolation. Glendalough, however, had a simpler architectural structure as well as a community atmosphere. 

(Close-up of some arches at Jerpoint. Credit: Kelly) 

           

What did our group think of Jerpoint Abbey? 

            Our group originally thought that monasteries were run completely by monks with no inclusion of laypeople. We were surprised when the guide told us that the monks actually hired laypeople. We also thought the carvings around the monasteries were quite interesting. Some of our favorites included portrayals of the Seven Deadly Sins. We agreed that we could not survive on the monks’ simple diet of boiled vegetables, bread, and beer. It was interesting that the monks were only allowed to talk and ask questions in the Chapter House. We thought that the abbeys might encourage discussion among the monks so they could dig deeper into their beliefs. 

Dunbrody Famine Ship

What is the Dunbrody Famine Ship about? 

            We visited the Dunbrody Famine Ship. The original ship was built in 1845, in Quebec by an Irish emigrant named Thomas Hamilton Oliver; the full-scale replica that is open to the public was built in New Ross in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Dunbrody’s initial purpose was carrying cargo overseas, such as timber and guano, which is a type of fertilizer. Coincidentally, the ship was built the same year that the Potato Famine started, so the ship transformed from a cargo vessel to an emigrant ship, carrying people across the Atlantic from 1845 and 1851. The typical number of passengers on the Dunbrody at one time ranged from 160 to over 300; in 1847, the ship carried 313 passengers from Ireland to Quebec. Many of the emigrant vessels of the time were known as “coffin ships” because so many people died as a result of the horrendous conditions below deck. 

(Full-scale Replica of the original Dunbrody. Credit: Kelly)

Who do we need to remember?

Thomas Hamilton Oliver (builder)

John Baldwin (captain)

John Williams (captain; Baldwin’s successor)

Where is it? 

New Ross, Co. Wexford, Ireland

What does it look like? 

            There was an area at the front of the ship where the cook kept livestock such as pigs and chicken as food for the crew and cabin passengers. The cook would kill an animal on deck and let the blood and innards run through the cracks between boards into the cabin below where the crewmembers slept.

The lower class passengers all shared one big room and slept in bunks with three to four other people. They were only allowed on deck for thirty minutes a day, which was also the time they were allowed to cook their bread for the day. They were not allowed to eat meat. On the other hand, the upper class passengers lived in nicer cabins with just their family members. They were allowed to eat meat and other luxurious foods and go on deck whenever they pleased.

The cabin passengers, also known as the upper class, paid five to eight pounds a person to live in nicer conditions. Each family had their own private cabin as well as a common dining area used only by the upper class. The steerage passengers, who were the lower class, paid between three and four pounds a person to live in the confined and unhygienic space; as many as six or seven people were crammed into a bunk that could comfortably fit three or four people. Food was served at a long table with benches on either side. Disease spread like wildfire in these horrific conditions; the first-class passengers, however, rarely got sick. Every day, dozens of corpses were thrown overboard as families lost their loved ones.

Many of the lower class passengers did not pay for their passage because their landlords evicted them from their farms to clear the failed potato crop plots to make room for cattle. This system ensured the landlords a profit in a way that a starving family living there could not. One could only imagine the difficulties of leaving everything behind to go to a new country.

(A lower-class cabin space on the Dunrbody. Credit: Kelly)

What does the Dunbrody Famine Ship mean to Ireland in the past and today?

The Dunbrody is an excellent example of the Irish people’s desperation to leave the country during and after the famine. This coffin ship shows the atrocious conditions that were common for this journey. After 5 years of famine conditions, Ireland’s population was cut almost in half. A total of 1.5 million Irish people emigrated, mostly to North America, during the Famine, and this influence can be seen today.  As Americans with Irish ancestry, it was eye-opening to see what it took for our courageous ancestors to start over in a new country. We cannot imagine what it must have been like to endure a famine of this magnitude, and then decide to abandon everything that we had ever known. While we were on our tour, two women dressed as passengers of the ship—one lower class and one upper class—and described to us what it was like aboard the Dunbrody. Hearing their stories made the ship come alive. Besides being able to walk around and stand in the cramped quarters, hearing about the loss of the woman’s husband really hit home.