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In a recent discussion of where will we go today? with my family, l gamely suggested
a trip to Holywood, Co. Down, to see the old Priory and graveyard. When this failed to
elicit the desired response from the Chapples Minor, the plans were revised to include
a visit to one of the local playgrounds. To cut a long story short, the eventual
compromise we reached was that theyd go to the Johnny the Jig playground in
Holywood and Id proceed alone to the graveyard! All things considered, I reckon I got
the better of the deal if only because the other parents give me nasty looks when I
go on the swings and slides.
Overview of the Priory building and graveyard, with the modern Presbyterian
church in the background
Tradition relates that St Laiseran was a local boy, the son of a princess called Nasca,
and studied in Bangor under St Comgall. After some time spent around Cork, he
returned home to found a monastery in Holywood. It was certainly active before 640
AD, as a priest-abbot of Holywood, called Laisrianus, was mentioned in a Papal letter
regarding the date of Easter. However, there remains some uncertainty as to whether
that foundation lay here at the Priory, or near the later Holywood Motte. Certainly, no
early remains have been discovered at the Priory site where the oldest structures are
the ruins of the 12th century Augustinian Abbey, built by Thomas Whyte on the orders
of the Anglo-Norman knight, John deCourcy. From what I can gather, the site fell into
decay and around the 1490 it was refurbished by Niall ONeill for the Franciscans. The
fine traceried East Window dates to this period of activity. After its dissolution in 1541,
the lands eventually passed to Sir James Hamilton, First Viscount Clandeboye, who
laid out the plan for the modern town of Holywood. The site was burned by Sir Brian
O'Neill in 1572 along with the Abbeys at Movilla, Bangor, and Greyabbey to prevent
it falling into the hands of the English government forces. The tower at the western
end dates to 1809, when the site was refurbished for use as a parish church. It
continued in this role until the present Church of Ireland building was completed in
1843.
Carved window in the tower
West Doorway
Plan of the Priory (Source)
Selection of gravestones
View down the priory building, from the East Window
Selection of gravestones
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Note:
It was only in doing some follow-up research for this post that I realised that one of
those buried here was Sir Joseph Larmor (1857-1942). He is chiefly remembered for
his opposition to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity along with arguing against the
notion that space is curved. Early in his career he taught physics at Queens College
Galway (now NUIG) where a lecture theatre is named in his honour. I remember it
chiefly as a place I was forced to sit, listening to long, rambling lectures about
metaphysics. Interestingly, there is a crater on the dark side of the
moon named Larmor in his honour. To the best of my knowledge, it has not been the
venue for any lectures in philosophy.
Resources:
Placenamesni.org
NI Sites & Monuments Record
Discover Northern Ireland
History from Headstones
Wikipedia Page