Holy Cross Abbey

Situated on the W bank of the River Suir in undulating countryside. A Cistercian abbey founded in 1180 possibly on the site of an earlier Benedictine abbey founded by Donal O'Brien, King of Limerick in 1169 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 134). In 1563 the abbey was granted to Gerald Earl of Ormond (ibid., 134). In the early to mid-seventeenth century an attempt was made to revive the Cistercian community but this was eventually suppressed by the Cromwellians (Stalley 1987, 29). The last professed monk from Holycross died in 1752 (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 135). The importance of the abbey was based on its acquisition of a fragment of the true cross which it is said was given to Muirchertach O'Brien c. 1110 by Pope Paschal II (ibid.). Holycross was granted a charter in 1185-6 by its founder Domhnall Ua Briain, King of Limerick (Stalley 1987, 245). The present remains of this well-preserved multi-period abbey, with the abbey well to the E (TN047-030004-), consist of a nave and chancel church with two chapels in each transept, a low crossing-tower with a barrel-vaulted sacristy and a small chapterhouse in the E range of buildings. There is a well-preserved cloister walk with a partially rebuilt cloister arcade to the S of the abbey with the domestic buildings in the W range and other buildings in the E range commonly referred to as the infirmary, the abbot's lodgings or the guesthouse (ibid., 245-6). Two building phases have been identified in the construction of Holycross Abbey - the first dates to the late twelfth/early thirteenth century and is evident in the nave and its arcades and in the S wall of the S aisle. Some later windows were inserted in the W wall of the nave but traces of the original lancet windows are still visible. The round-headed sandstone doorway in the S aisle, giving access to the cloister walk, is c. 1200 in date (Leask 1955, 59, 62) but has been rebuilt. The earlier phase of building is quite plain in style compared to the fifteenth-century restoration which was sponsored by the Earl of Ormonde. Work began early in the fifteenth century and possibly continued into the sixteenth century. The E part of the church, including the monk's choir, transepts, chancel and crossing-tower date to this later period, as does the cloister, though this was partially reconstructed in 1928. The general walling throughout is built of rubble masonry while the detailing is of high-quality limestone, finely cut and closely jointed. There are a number of particularly fine internal features. These include the beautifully decorated sedilia in the chancel, traditionally called the 'Tomb of the Good Woman's Son', above which is a series of shields, the largest bearing the royal arms of England. Others include the arms of the abbey itself, the Butler arms and the FitzGerald arms (Stalley 1987, 115). The 'Waking Bier of the Monks', situated between the two S transept chapels, possibly functioned as an elaborate shrine where the relic of the True Cross could be viewed through the open-work. A second shrine, formerly positioned in the NW angle of the N transept, is stored in the guesthouse.

The church is lit by a number of windows displaying a variety of tracery styles. The six-light E window is a good example of a fifteenth-century window with reticulated tracery. The signatures of the masons can be seen on the piers of the crossing-tower where there are a number of mason's marks and protruding from the NW pier is a carved owl with outstretching wings. Other minor carvings can be seen throughout the church. Examples of rib vaulting have survived in the N transept, crossing-tower, chancel and chapels, above which are living quarters with squints overlooking the transept (Leask 1955, 68). The night stair in the S transept formerly led to the monks' dormitory. In the crossing-tower two bells have been installed. Both were found buried beneath the ruined parish church of Buolick, near Urlingford, one having been cast before 1250 (Hayes 1993, 113). In the N transept there is the rare survival of a hunting scene painted on plaster using a range of colours, red ochre, charcoal black, lime white and vermilion (McGrath 1987, 123). Also within the church are a large number of sixteenth/seventeenth-century graveslabs, while others were moved during the renovation to the graveyard immediately N of the abbey. Additional fragments of graveslabs and architectural fragments are currently stored in the guesthouse, SE of the abbey church. Associated with the church are a number of domestic and residential buildings. The W range of the cloister housed the sacristy, chapterhouse (with its unusual billet-ornamented doorway) and day-room or parlour. The opposing range contains the cellars on the ground floor and apartments above with fireplaces and projecting garderobes (Leask 1955, 68). S of the cloister was a range which contained the kitchen and refectory, now gone. The guesthouse and abbot's quarters (National Monument No. 121) are located immediately SE of the abbey church. The abbot's quarters appear to have been remodelled in the fifteenth century, the architectural features being well-executed and designed for maximum comfort. Reconstruction work, including re-roofing of the church, was carried out between 1971 and 1975 (Hayes 1993, 112).