Jerpoint Abbey is calling you

To understand the true importance of Jerpoint Abbey, Thomastown, situated after a bend on the road, along the old national primary route to Waterford (N9),We have become one of the worlds most recognised Ventilation system brands. you must go back to when it was at the height of its powers before the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1540s.

And you have to walk around the cloister (the square-shaped covered walk) with the ‘Garth’,Professionals with the job title Mold Maker are on LinkedIn. green area in the centre, and try to imagine the White Monks, their heads bearing the shaved tonsure as they walked in the cloister walkways praying or singing in Gregorian chant. As they passed the beautifully designed and simple structure that have passed down to us, it would have been difficult for them not to be touched by the different images that confronted them as they walked around.

These figures carved in stone include such images as St Anthony of Egypt, the 4th Earl of Ormond, a manticore, a wyvern (legendary winged creature with a dragon’s head, lizard’s body, two legs and a barbed tail), a man with an upset tummy, knights and images of both St Catherine of Alexandria and St Margaret of Antioch. Interestingly both of these female figures are represented three times each in Jerpoint along with a carving of St Mary. These carvings echo some drawings found on medieval manuscripts.

It was very much an all-male, hierarchical system with the under-classed, lay brothers not allowed into the cloister and living in a separate area outside the inner sanctum. And let’s put one thing to rest. St Nicholas (now known as Santa) was not buried here by knights coming back from the Crusades.Site describes services including Plastic Mould. It’s a lovely, romantic tale but has no basis in truth any there is no written record to support it.

Folklore has it that his remains or a piece of his body or a relic associated with him lie in the abbey but that does not mean to say there is no link to St Nicholas and the area. He is strongly associated with the church named after him, not far from Jerpoint and close to the lost village of Jerpoint which has been lovingly and wonderfully unearthed and brought to life by Joe O’Connell. And it does have a certain aura and who knows the remains of St Nicholas may have ended up there.

The lost town, which grew up beside the abbey and declined dramatically in the 17th Century, is extremely important and greater links between the State-run abbey and the work on the telling the story of that town should be closer, making it an even better experience for visitors.

What should be at the centre of all this history – opening it up to as many people as possible. Brian Keyes wrote extensively in this paper about the lost town of Jerpoint and it is available on the Kilkenny People website.

Jerpoint Abbey still has a huge significance and still has a strong resonance with the surrounding community. Although there have been no funerals in the abbey precincts for the last few years, local families still have plots here and are entitled to be interred here.

The guides at Jerpoint are in possession of a map from early in the 20th Century which shows the various family plots dotted around the abbey and the supervisor, Dr Breda Lynch wouldn’t mind discussing it with anyone who thinks they might be able to name some of the plots.

I think that you have to climb the stairs to the open-air first floor of Jerpoint to really understand the life of the monks. And if there was a higher visitor platform it would make an even greater impression with visitors. If you are from Jerpoint like the retired Bishop of Ossory, Dr Laurence Forristal, you still have great memories of the place and people from here have a great respect and pride in it and maybe that’s why it has lasted so long - the reverence of the community it.

As one commentator has described it: “The dark, biscuit-coloured tower of Jerpoint Abbey, with its battlements, rears above a bend on the road south of Thomastown.”

What an apt description and that colour is in part due to the Dundry stone used in its construction and the fact that it has survived wars and natural calamities to remain relatively intact compared to others is amazing. There are no rich tapestries here, no priceless antiques and no portraits of in-bred toffs with long noses but here you can touch history and appreciate the lifestyle of those who lived and died here.

Receiving a five star tour from one of the most eminent scholars on the Cistercians in Ireland, Dr Breda Lynch, helps your appreciation of Jerpoint and as we walked up the wooden stairs to where the monks dormitory was and because the roof has long since been removed, we can see the Kilkenny-Waterford railway line where, in times past, trains stopped and people got off to view Jerpoint. In the fields below the first floor we can make out the outlines of various outbuildings and defences and the remains of the drainage system which may have included a system of reed beds (eco-friendly monks). But it is the monks and their existence that characterises your visit to their meagre sleeping quarters.

Their day started at two o’clock every morning and they walked down the stairs from the dormitory to the ground floor and into the church where they sang in Gregorian chant the first of the nine prayerful periods. I’m not sure there would be many takers today for the life of a monk in an enclosed order.With superior quality photometers, light meters and a number of other solar light products.

These Cistercians, were originally from Citeaux, France and were followers of the Rule of St Benedict which revolved around three basic principles; peace, prayer and work. As stated their day started at 2am and they were allowed a 1lb weight of coarse bread and two dishes of boiled vegetables per day. It gets a little better. They were also allowed eight pints of abbey-made beer every day. This beer was thick and had to be strained before drinking and was lighter than today’s Smithwicks but it was this beer that gave them the energy, we are led to believe, to keep going. They were banned from eating any four legged animal but they could feed on chicken, fowl and fish. However, standing there, Dr Breda explained that in the calefactory in font of us (again without a roof) a fire was lit on All Soul’s Day and quenched on Good Friday. This was the only heat in the entire complex.

Here, four times a year, the poor monks were bled and had up to four pints of blood removed. Yes, 16 pints a year. There was even a special “monastic blood pit” at many monasteries like Jerpoint. In medieval and early modern times it was erroneously thought that “letting blood” was good for all sorts of ailments and was common practice across the medieval world.Nitrogen Controller and Digital dry cabinet with good quality.