Drumlane
Drumlane () is a townland situated near the village of Milltown, area 85.76 hectares (211.93 acres), in County Cavan, Ireland. Drumlane is also the name of the civil parish in which the townland is situated. Saint Columba brought Christianity to Drumlane in 555, and Saint Máedóc of Ferns was the patron saint of Drumlane Abbey. Saint Máedóc made the Connachta nobleman Faircheallaigh the first Abbot of Drumlane in the 7th century and his Ó Faircheallaigh descendants were historically the Abbots of Drumlane. The name Drumlane denotes the drumlin region of low hilly ribbed moraines formed over a limestone bedrock created  by the movement of glacial ice and melt water during the last ice age. Several townlands in the neighbourhood are prefixed with the word 'Drum', while several others are prefixed with the word 'Derry', which is Irish for oak. History. There is recorded evidence of people living and farming around the neighbourhood of Drumlane for over two thousand years. This is seen mainly on maps and on land in the form of ringforts and enclosures. In the nearby Derrybrick lough there are the remains of crannogs which are man made islands used for accommodation. The most profoundly unique feature of  this countryside comes in the form of a ruined Augustinian monastic church and round tower. The early Christian site at Drumlane is said to date back to Saint Columba around 555. Drumlane was later developed by Saint Máedóc (known locally as St. Mogue), from whom many miraculous stories and legends arise. Significant Church developments began in Ireland during the 12th century with the reforming of diocese and the creation of archbishoprics at Armagh and Cashel. A Synod of Kells in 1152 began further changes where the Kingdom of Breifni became the new "Tir Briuin" diocese boundary stretched from Kells in  Meath to Sligo. Drumlane being the midpoint of the new Breifne "Tir Briuin" Diocese to come under the jurisdiction of the Abbot of Kells order of Augustinian Canons regular St. Mary's Abbey of Kells. Drumlane priory was called afterwards St. Mary's Drumlane until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the mid-16th century. Notable historic events went recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters and in the Annals of Clonmacnoise, that in 836 Drumlane was attacked by Viking raiders along with other abbeys at Devenish Island on the river Erne. Clones abbey was also attacked during these raids . The King of Breifne Tighearnan O'Ruairc (1124–1172) gave patronage to the early diocese, But in 1246 it went recorded that Drumlane church was burned during a feud between rival Breifne clans O'Rourke lords of West Breifne and the O'Reillys of East Breifne. Significant also then that Drumlane was once a town on the border line between east and west Breifne, also burial grounds for O'Rourke and O'Reilly clan chiefs. Battles at Drumlane also took place in 1261 between the O'Conors kings of Breifne and Hugh O'Reilly, followed by further battles in 1314 and 1338 where the O'Conors defeated the O'Reilly  clan. Peace was restored in 1391 between all rival factions. In 1431 Papal records describe alms needed to rebuild Drumlane abbey with cloisters and a refectory. Then in 1436 the Pope appointed Patrick Ó Faircheallaigh as Canon (Coarb) of St. Mary's Drumlane priory then a dependency under the Abbey of Kells. An interesting charter of 19 September 1438 exists which grants the erenaghship of Drumlane to Nicholas Ó Faircheallaigh. The O'Reilly feuds continued, and in 1487, Edmund and Fergal O'Reilly attacked Clogh Oughter castle, occupied by their uncle John O'Reilly. Retribution came swiftly and Fergal was killed (buried at  Drumlane) and Drumlane town where Edmund O'Reilly lived was burned in punishment. O'Reilly clan feuds around Drumlane continued in 1512, while the last mention from papal records was in 1538 before the priory and church was confiscated by Queen Elizabeth I and granted to Hugh O'Reilly under lease. However the O'Reillys still carried out their depredations as we find a raid on Drumlane c. 1570 by Toirdhealbhach, nicknamed 'An Prióir Balbh', the illegitimate son of the chief, Aodh Conallach O'Reilly. Later to be taken over by the reformed Anglican Diocese of Kilmore and used for Protestant church worship while the  priory buildings were left to decay. A new church called St. Columba's was erected by the Church of Ireland by 1821 and the old Drumlane church was then un-roofed and abandoned. Drumlane architecture. The original monastic structures at Drumlane were built from wood gathered from the nearby oak forests, having deteriorated over centuries of weather and raids from Vikings and rival clans. During the twelfth century, when under Augustinian monastic jurisdiction the entire structure was rebuilt using local stone to a traditional Gaelic Irish church design, using styles similar to many other monastic buildings in Connacht and elsewhere . The craftsmanship used in constructing the round tower was a key statement of prestige for its time, that perhaps the O'Rourke kings of Breifne wanted to create 'pride of place' within the new Breifne Tir Briuin diocese. Other building works probably came from donations paid by prominent local farmers and pilgrims to view St. Mogues relics at Drumlane. From the mid-12 century Drumlane priory came under Augustinian Canons jurisdiction from the abbot of St. Mary's abbey in Kells. The Drumlane church was a basic nave and screened chancel measuring (inside) 32.6 metres long by 7.6 metres wide. There is  evidence of various stages of construction and significant modifications over the centuries, from the late twelfth and early thirteenth century became a 'Transition' period, when late stages of Hiberno Romanesque style architecture gave way to the English Gothic styles being introduced to church construction all around the country. Typical twelfth century works can be seen in the construction of the doors and windows of the round tower using rounded head openings. The west doorway of the church is similar round-headed fashioned with dog-tooth design typical of several twelfth century churches. The windows and doorways in the south and  north walls come from a later period using medieval arched forms, while some are hooded (original English style) Gothic design which became popular from the early thirteenth century. The tall three light east window design is set with the remains of flamboyant tracery (probably 15th century). On the outside, set beside the east window there are the carved heads of a bearded king and his queen (perhaps 12th century benefactors of the church) along with the head of a bishop or abbot. Fragments of decorative masonry remain within the church and outside include the remains of medieval pillars and a  richly carved 'impost' that could have supported an arched cloister or screen structure. Another richly carved stone believed to be a tomb slab stands inside the church against the north wall. There are tomb niches located in the south wall, also a Romanesque style doorway chevron fragment (c1170), which perhaps could have come from the priory building once located about two hundred metres south from the church. Drumlane Round Tower shows signs that it was built or rebuilt in two stages. The symbolic stone structure which stands beside the church and is the only remaining round tower in the Church  of Ireland Diocese of Kilmore. Today the buttressed ruin of Drumlane church with its round tower standing 11.6 metres tall and 15.8 metres around the base circumference represents a significant structure of the monastic period, while little remains today of the old priory buildings which fell into decay after the dissolution of the monasteries in around 1538. The abbey church was then used for Anglican worship until around 1820 before becoming abandoned and allowed to decay. All structures now come under the care and stewardship of the OPW state agency and open to visitors. The cemetery meanwhile is still in  use and is maintained by local parish communities. Saints of Drumlane Abbey. Abbots of Drumlane (heirs to the patron saint) Curates of Drumlane. Drumlane parish had two curacies, one at Drumlane and one at Staghall. Staghall Curates Milltown Curates