KNOCKMORE (Co Sligo) - a photo on Flickriver

            THE DOMINICANS OF KNOCKMORE (Co Sligo)
About six miles to the south of Ballindoon there is a townland called Knockmore. It is on the Sligo side of the border with Roscommon. The remains of an old church are there as is there a Holy Well. They are both located on private land. Continuing south for a further six miles leaves you in Knockvicar – this is also a listed Dominican site with no documentation to support it.

The well is unspectacular and looks more like a puddle. The chapel ruins were higher in living memory but have been knocked down by cows bumping into them. Nevertheless the outline of the church and some of the stones are still visible. There is an old cut-stone shed near the well that served as a school in previous times although not in living memory. The present school is two hundred yards away.

The mention of a Dominican presence in Knockmore, Co. Sligo was discounted by Thomas Burke in his work Hibernia Dominicana. His doubt hinted that the Knockmore in question would have been another Knockmore in County Mayo. There is a substantial ruin of a church at a place called Friarstown in Knockmore, Co. Mayo. This ruin is half way between the established communities at Straide and Rathfranpark. The Mayo site could have been either Franciscan or Dominican. The Franciscan claim is dubious because the nearby communities at Rosserk and Moyle were in conflict with each other and the friars would have been unlikely to found a third community. The Domincan claim is dubious because the Hibernia Dominicana says that Knockmore was in the county of Sligo.

My first visit to Knockmore in Sligo brought no results. The name is obsolete and local people had never heard of any place called Knockmore nearby. The area is now called Derrynaslieve. The local historian had heard of it and I met him on a second visit. The site of the church and the well are both on his land. I had gone about three fields too far in my search.

The presence of a Holy Well appears consistent with other places of Dominican activity in rural Ireland. The order is associated with wells at Toombeola, Toormona, Brusk, Esker, Knockanure and Naas. These wells were gathering points for the Gaelic Irish and it is quite possible that the friars of Ballindoon served the Pattern Day at Knockmore, Co. Sligo. The presence of a small church indicates that the community was more permanent than simply attending to Pattern Days. 

The presence of a school in the area could also hint at covert Dominican activity in the early eighteenth century just as at Brusk. Certainly there is enough evidence to suggest that the friars of Ballindoon or Sligo were active in this area.

Maybe the friars worked in Knockmore, Co. Sligo and Knockmore, Co. Mayo and Knockvicar was also part of the story. The presence of friars in Knockmore and Knockvicar from Ballindoon (or Sligo) would not be improbable. The local population is sparse and dispersed. Rather than founding new priories a few of the brethren might have worked these areas and a few may have remained resident. The presence of an old church in the area is certainly not a construction by the local Elphin diocese as they were established in Kilmactranny two miles further north. Without discounting the Mayo possibility it is safe enough to presume that this was an undocumented filial house of Ballindoon and that Father Burke had been informed correctly.

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Taken in: Ireland / Roscommon / Ballyfarnan (show map)

Taken on: September 11, 2012

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Sets appears in: • Fergal Mac Eoinín visits Dominican sites

Camera: Nikon D90, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, 66mm (=99mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D90
Aperture:	f/7.1
Exposure Time:	0.005 sec (1/200)
Focal Length:	66mm (35mm equivalent: 99mm)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Auto, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Microsoft Windows Photo Gallery 6.0.6001.18000
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