Oughaval, County Laois
Oughaval (An Nuachabháil[1]), sometimes called Oakvale,[2] is a townland in the civil parish of Stradbally, County Laois, in Ireland. It is the site of a sixth-century monastic settlement.
Monastery
A monastery was founded at Oughaval in the late sixth century by St Colman mac Ua Laoighse, otherwise St Colman of Oughaval.
The Book of Leinster was kept at Oughaval for many generations and was then known as Lebor na Nuachongbála, or the Book of Oughaval.[5]
In the early 18th century a 12th-century stone roofed church survived, and the Cosbys of Stradbally Hall added a mortuary-chancel to it.[6] The site of the monastery can still be identified, and a burial ground there is still in use. However, there are now no remains of the original church or monastic building, as the stone from them was robbed out in the 18th century to build a mausoleum.
In about 1994, the Russian Orthodox Church built a new church nearby, in the demesne of Stradbally Hall, dedicated to St Colman of Oughaval.[7]
Oughaval Wood
Oughaval Wood, about 1.5 kilometres out of Stradbally on the Carlow road, is a mixed woodland of some one hundred and fifty
Deep in the wood is the Mass Rock, where in the
Township history
Druim an Tochair
Hogan's Onomasticon Goedelicum states: Druim Toga, alias Druim Togaidhe, Senach and Colmán of Tulach mac nDomnaill and of D. T., Lec. 106, Ll. 349, Bb. 121 a, Fir. 731; ¶ now Navan, C. 354; ¶ in Laigis Laigen, Lec. 274, Md. 128, 212, Lec. 216, Lb. 17; ¶ in Hui Condmaill, Bb. 121 b; ¶ Colman and Senach in Tilaig mic Comgaill, and in D. Thogae, i.e., isinduachongbail, Ll. 350; ¶ it is in Leix, al. Queen's c., and is al. Nuachongbail, miswritten nDuachongabail, now Nohaval or Ohaval cemetery, which I have seen on a ridge nr Stradbally, Queen's county. Modern scholars translate this as Druim an Tochair meaning "The Hill-Ridge of the Causeway", but the earliest sources such as the genealogies of the saints and the
See also
- List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Laois)
References
- ^ "An Nuachabháil/Oughaval". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ Moynihan, Michael. "Oakvale Monastery". Towns and Villages of Laois. AskAboutIreland. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Saint of the Day, May 15: Colman McO'Laoighse" at SaintPatrickDC.org. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
- ^ Latin Saints of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Rome (see Colman Mc O'Laoighse May 15) at orthodoxengland.org.uk
- ISBN 978-0-19-821737-4), p. 546
- ^ Oughaval Oakvale at goireland.com
- ^ Draft Stradbally Town Plan, December 2007 Archived 2008-10-30 at the Wayback Machine at laois.ie
- ^ Oughaval Wood at coillte.ie
- ^ More Walking Routes at laoistourism.ie
- ^ Griffiths Valuation of Ireland - Stradbally, County Laois at failteromhat.com
- ^ "The Settling of the Manor of Tara - Translation [text]".
External links
- CANON TO SAINT COLMAN OF OUGHAVAL at orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk