St. Mochta's House Explained

St. Mochta's House
Other Name:The Monk's House
Native Name:Teach Naomh Mochta
Native Name Lang:ga
Pushpin Map:Ireland
Relief:yes
Coordinates:53.9534°N -6.5453°W
Location:Priorstate, Louth, County Louth
Country:Ireland
Denomination:Church of Ireland
Previous Denomination:Pre-Reformation Catholic
Functional Status:inactive
Heritage Designation:
Embed:yes
Designation1:National Monument of Ireland
Designation1 Offname:St. Mochta's House
Designation1 Number:312
Style:Celtic Christianity
Years Built:c. 1150–1200
Length:4.88m (16.01feet) (internal)
Width:2.82m (09.25feet) (internal)
Floor Count:2
Floor Area:13.7m2
Materials:stone
Diocese:Armagh

St. Mochta's House is a medieval oratory and National Monument in County Louth, Ireland.[1] [2]

Location

St. Mochta's House is located to the northwest of Louth village.[3]

History

Mochta (d. AD 535/543) was a disciple of Saint Patrick and established a monastery at Louth village c. 528. There are no physical remains from the early monastery. The ruined buildings at the site today are the 13th century church of St. Mary's Priory, Louth and the oratory called St Mochta's House, which is believed to date from the second half of the twelfth century, although some sources place it earlier, in the 9th–11th centuries.[4]

There are many stone buildings in Ireland with the names of saints' houses, such as St. Columb's House, Kells, County Meath. Most of these buildings are said to contain the grave or relics of the titular saint. In the year 1242, according to the Annals of Connacht, "The Archbishop of Armagh and the canons abbots of Ireland held a great chapter to honour the Order in Louth when some of the relics which Mochta had assembled from Rome were raised."[5] This suggests that Mochta brought back relics of other saints from Rome, but it's also possible that his own bones were added to them.[6]

The surrounding wall was built in 1906 by Louth County Council, and conservation work was done in 1934 by the Office of Public Works.[7] [8]

Building

St. Mochta's House is a rectangular building with barrel-vaulted roof, and a chamber above reachable by an internal stair.[9] [10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rees, Elizabeth. A Dictionary of Celtic Saints. 1 January 2012. History Press. 9780752490175. Google Books.
  2. Book: Rees, Elizabeth. Celtic Sites and Their Saints: A Guidebook. 10 February 2003. Bloomsbury Publishing. 9781441113443. Google Books.
  3. Book: Rees, Elizabeth. Celtic Saints in their Landscape. 30 June 2013. Amberley Publishing Limited. 9781445614144. Google Books.
  4. Book: O'Sullivan, Harold. Dundalk and North Louth: Paintings and Stories from Cuchulainn's Country. 1 January 1997. Dundurn. 9781900935067. Google Books.
  5. Web site: Part 19 of Annála Connacht. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20030831214117/http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/T100011/text019.html. 2003-08-31.
  6. Web site: St Mochta's House.
  7. Web site: Historic St. Mary's Abbey and St. Mochta's House in our own little village.. Mominthegarden. 30 May 2012.
  8. Web site: St Mochta's House and St Mary's Priory, Louth, Ireland. Ed Hannon-Visions of the. Past. 21 August 2013.
  9. Web site: 1180c. - St. Mochta's House, Louth, Co. Louth - Architecture of Louth - Archiseek - Irish Architecture. 6 January 2010.
  10. Web site: St. Mochta's House.
  11. Book: The Gap of the North: The Archaeology & Folklore of Armagh, Down, Louth, and Monaghan. Noreen. Cunningham. Pat. McGinn. 1 January 2001. O'Brien Press. 9780862787073. Google Books.