The Gallaghers of Ballinrobe

THE ‘OLD CHURCH’
The Catholic Church in Ireland dates to St. Patrick
and the fifth century. Following his preaching, many
monasteries and other churches were founded in the West
of Ireland. There were several abbeys in the area around
Ballinrobe, including Ballintubber and Burriscarra, several
miles north of town; Inismaine Abbey on the shores of
Lough Mask; and Cong Abbey (in ruins), to the south. All
date to the sixth and seventh centuries.
Later monastic establishments in or near
Ballinrobe were the Killeentreva Church and the Augustine
Abbey. The Killeentreva Church, which is on the road to
Creagh Demesne, was possibly established in the 12th
century by a small settlement of nuns. The Augustine
Abbey was built in the early 1300s. Mass was celebrated in
the Abbey as late as 1692, but it was deserted by the end of
that century. In the 1400s, the Knights Hospitallers had a
house and chapel, St. John the Baptist Church, near the
Augustinian Abbey.
The book “How The Irish Saved Civilization”
makes the case the dedication and scholarship found in
Irish monasteries preserved much of Western learning
during the Dark Ages. But Catholics in Ireland began their
own dark ages when the church and its sacraments were
outlawed after the Tudor conquest. For several centuries,
the English Crown attempted to suppress Ireland’s Catholic
majority, but that only led to Irish nationalism coalescing
around the faith.
Dismantling of the penal laws targeting Catholics
began slowly in 1766. They were finally removed by the
Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829. Among the changes were
The 'Old Church' in Ballinrobe, seen today, above, and,
below, in a postcard kept by Uncle Jim, was built in the
first half of the nineteenth century on the road to
Castlebar. The inside of the ruins are seen at left.
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