Clonmacnoise
[Ed. Note Information submitted by
a Claffey cousin----Richard David Claffey]
The attached picture is
of a religious complex in the County of OFFALY in central
Ireland. It is called
"CLONMACNOISE" (Cluain Mhic Nois as it is known in old
Gaelic). It is known
as one of the oldest ( if not the oldest) Christian churches in
Ireland.
It was founded by St. Ciaran
in 545 A. D. The Monastic City flourished as a
religious and scholastic
center until it's destruction in the sixteenth century.
Many of the countries Kings,
Saints and Scholars are buried here including St. Ciaran,
the last High King of Ireland.
Situated on a bend of the
Shannon River, the ruins of Clonmacnoise include two
round towers, eight churches
and a cathedral. One of the eight churches is the
"CLAFFEY" Church. It is
the one in the foreground to the right. These churches
were built by various wealthy
families in the area here. There are many carved
gravestones and the oldest
of several of Ireland's famed Celtic High Crosses. These
are crosses within a circle
and decorated with Biblical scenes and imaginary beasts.
You can see several in the foreground of the picture. Clonmacnoise
is thought to be
the source of theses Celtic
High Crosses of Ireland.
Thought you might enjoy
this piece of family history. As George Santayana said
"He who does not know the
past is doomed to repeat it."
If you chase things on the
Internet, you can work your way to this site starting from
www.ireland-information.com
Brent Claffey has a list
of Claffey burials at Clonmacnoise on his web page
"Claffey Connections".
Click on the twirling Blue Ball to see this list.
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This page was last modified:Monday, 19-Feb-2001 08:03:42 MST