Mass Rock Sites of:
County MONAGHAN
Page 1
Lisglassan Mass garden
© Copyright Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
These unmodified photographs entitled 'Lisglassan Mass garden’ and 'Plaque, Lisglassan Mass garden' were taken in 2012 by Kenneth Allen who retains the copyright to this image.
They available for use under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).
To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
Lisglasson Mass Garden, Clontibret
Lisglasson Mass Garden is highlighted on the 1857 OSI map of the area. It is also identified by Rev. P. Ó Gallachair in his 1957 journal article ‘Clogher’s Altars of the Penal Days’ published in the Clogher Record, 2 (1), pp. 97-130.
In subsequent articles Ó Gallachair identifies 160 potential Mass sites in the diocese of Clogher.
This Mass Garden is situated close to the N2 and is accessible from the roadside
Co-ordinates: 54° 13' 8.87" N -6° 50' 21.95" W
Plaque, Lisglassan Mass garden
© Copyright Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence at http://www.geograph.ie/photo/3133461
All Saints Church, Doohamlet
© Copyright Kieran Campbell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence at http://www.geograph.ie/photo/952471
Doohamlet/Doohamlat Mass Site
A Mass Garden is identified in the townland of Doohamlat on the Historic Ordnance Survey of Ireland map (http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V2,676845,820564,11,7).
Ó Gallachair (1957, 113) states that this was ‘The Bothog Chapel’ and that it is located on the site of today’s church. A bothóg is a cabin or hut.
The Diocese of Clogher identifies the parish of Clontibret to be the location of the last Mass Garden to be in use. It was used up until St Mary’s Church was completed in 1859.(http://www.clogherdiocese.ie/2007/09/Penal_day_Bishop/ accessed 21.01.2016).
Mass Garden, Doohamlet
Co-ordinates: 54° 7’ 42.71” N -6° 49’ 29.06” W
All Saints Church, Doohamlet
Co-ordinates: 54° 7' 42.29" N -6° 49' 30.26" W
The OSI co-ordinates place the ‘Mass Garden’ just off the R183 in close proximity to the present day Catholic Church of All Saints (http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=MO®no=41401907)
This unmodified photograph entitled ‘All Saints’, Doohamlet, Co. Monaghan’ was taken in 2008 by Kieran Campbell who retains the copyright to this image. It is available for use under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).
To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
Lemgare Mass Rock
This previously unrecorded Mass Rock, located in the parish of Clontibret, is not listed on any OSI maps of the area and lies along the route identified by Eirgrid for their North-South 400 kV Interconnection Development. With no official recognition, it appears to have been excluded from their Environmental Impact Statement. However, the Mass Rock has now been recognised by the National Monuments Service and is included in their Sites and Monuments Record (MO015-008001- Compiled by Michael Moore on http://www.archaeology.ie Uploaded: 25th January 2016).
Lemgare Mass Rock
© Copyright Maurice McAdam and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence
There are a total of 5 Mass sites listed in the parish of Clontibret by Ó Gallachair (1957); Mass Gardens in Doohamlet and Lisglasson, a Bothóg (Mass cabin/hut) in Dunphelimy and Mass Rocks in Lemgare and Tassan
(Ó Gallachair, P. (1957) ‘Clogher’s Altars of the Penal Days. A Survey’, Clogher Record, 2 (1), pp. 97 – 130).
The Report on the State of Popery of 1731 identifies ‘Atlars ut supra’ in the parish of Clontibret. Ut supra is Latin for ‘as stated above’ and the entry above reads ‘one Altar made of earth & stones uncovered’. The entry relates to multiple altars, these possibly being those located at Lemgare and Tassan (Catholic Historical Society of Ireland (1913) ‘Report on the State of Popery in Ireland, 1731, Archivium Hibernicum, 1, pp. 10-27).
View From Lemgare Mass Rock
© Copyright Maurice McAdam and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence
The ‘Mass Stone Field’ is given as one of the field names in Clontibret parish in the Schools’ Manuscript Collection 1937 and 1938 (National Folklore Collection, Schools' Manuscript Collection [NFCS] (1937). 936. Folklore Archives, University College Dublin).This means that knowledge of the Mass Rocks in the townlands of both Lemgare and Tassan potentially dates back to at least 1731. The Lemgare Mass Rock is mentioned by Ó Gallachair (1957) as situated on the land of John Brennan and this land is now privately owned by Mr Philip Collins. Anyone wishing to access the Mass Rock should seek the landowner’s express permission before proceeding.
These unmodified photographs entitled ‘Lemgare Mass Rock’ and ‘View from Lemgare Mass Rock’ were taken in 2016 by Maurice McAdam who retains the copyright to these images. It is available for use under Creative Commons License Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0).
To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
(Awaiting photograph)
Tassan Mass Rock
The Mass Rock in Tassan in the parish of Clontibret, which is not listed on any historical Ordnance Survey maps, was identified by Ó Gallachair in 1957 as being located on the land of James Mulligan. Ó Gallachair’s source was the Very Reverend L Ó Mearáin.
There are a total of 5 Mass sites listed in the parish of Clontibret by Ó Gallachair (1957); Mass Gardens in Doohamlet and Lisglasson, a Bothóg (Mass cabin/hut) in Dunphelimy and Mass Rocks in Lemgare and Tassan (Ó Gallachair, P. (1957) ‘Clogher’s Altars of the Penal Days. A Survey’, Clogher Record, 2 (1), pp. 97 – 130).
The Report on the State of Popery of 1731 identifies ‘Atlars ut supra’ in the parish of Clontibret. Ut supra is Latin for ‘as stated above’ and the entry above reads ‘one Altar made of earth & stones uncovered’. The entry relates to multiple altars, these possibly being those located at Lemgare and Tassan (Catholic Historical Society of Ireland (1913) ‘Report on the State of Popery in Ireland, 1731, Archivium Hibernicum, 1, pp. 10-27). The ‘Mass Stone Field’ is given as one of the field names in Clontibret parish in the Schools’ Manuscript Collection 1937 and 1938 (National Folklore Collection, Schools' Manuscript Collection [NFCS] (1937). 936. Folklore Archives, University College Dublin).This means that knowledge of the Mass Rock at Tassan potentially dates back to at least 1731.