It was finished by his son, Donnell (1440). The convent was dedicated to the Blessed Trinity. It is said there was a miraculous image of the Blessed Virgin here, which brought great crowds of pilgrims. The feast of the Porziuncula was kept here long after the abbey had fallen to ruins, and the friars dispersed, and was known as the Abbey Day. Until the last few years stations were held there regularly, on the 2nd of October.
Clonmel Monastery was founded, about 1269, by the Desmonds; Drogheda, in 1240, by the Plunkets.
Some convents of Carmelite friars were also founded in the thirteenth century, but as yet they have not been fortunate enough to obtain the services of a historian, so that we can only briefly indicate the sites. The Convent of Dublin, for White Friars, was founded by Sir Robert Bagot, in 1274. The date of the establishment of the house at Leighlin-bridge has not been ascertained; but it was probably erected by the Carews, at the end of the reign of Henry III. There were also convents at Ardee, Drogheda, Galway, Kildare, and Thurles. The Convent of Kildare was the general seminary for the Order in Ireland; and one of its friars, David O'Brege, is styled "the burning light, the mirror and ornament of his country."
In 1248 the young men of Connaught inaugurated the periodical rebellions, which a statesman of modern times has compared to the dancing manias of the middle ages. Unfortunately for his comparison, there was a cause for the one, and there was no cause for the other. They acted unwisely, because there was not the remotest possibility of success; and to rebel against an oppression which cannot be remedied, only forges closer chains for the oppressed. But it can scarcely be denied that their motive was a patriotic one. Felim's son, Hugh, was the leader of the youthful band. In 1249 Maurice FitzGerald arrived to crush the movement, or, in modern parlance, "to stamp it out"—not always a successful process; for sparks are generally left after the most careful stamping, which another method might effectually have quenched. Felim at once fled the country. The English made his nephew, Turlough, ruler in his place; but the following year Felim made a bold swoop down from the Curlieus, expelled the intruder, and drove off a cattle prey. After this proof of his determination and valour, the English made peace with him, and permitted him to retain his own dominions without further molestation. Florence MacCarthy was killed this year, and Brian O'Neill, Lord of Tyrone, submitted to the Lord Justice—thereby freeing the invaders from two troublesome combatants. The next year, however, the English, who were not particular about treaties, invaded the north, and were repulsed with such loss as to induce them to treat the enemy with more respect for the time.
Under the year 1249 the Annals mention a defeat which the Irish suffered at Athenry, which they attribute to their refusal to desist from warfare on Lady Day, the English having asked a truce in honour of the Blessed Virgin. They also record the death of Donough O'Gillapatrick, and say that this was a retaliation due to the English; for he had killed, burned, and destroyed many of them. He is characterized, evidently with a little honest pride, as the third greatest plunderer of the English. The names of the other two plunderers are also carefully chronicled; they were Connor O'Melaghlin and Connor MacCoghlan. The "greatest plunderer" was in the habit of going about to reconnoitre the English towns in the disguise of pauper or poet, as best suited him for the time; and he had a quatrain commemorating his exploits:—
"He is a carpenter, he is a turner,
My nursling is a bookman;
He is selling wine and hides,
Where he sees a gathering."
The quatrain, if of no other value, gives us an idea of the commodities bartered, and the tradesmen who offered their goods at Irish fairs in English towns during the thirteenth century.
In 1257 there was a fierce conflict between the Irish, under Godfrey O'Donnell, and the English, commanded by Maurice FitzGerald. The conflict took place at Creadrankille, near Sligo. The leaders engaged in single combat, and were both severely wounded: eventually the invaders were defeated and expelled from Lower Connaught. Godfrey's wound prevented him from following up his success, and soon after the two chieftains died. The circumstances of Maurice's death have been already recorded. The death of O'Donnell is a curious illustration of the feeling of the times. During his illness, Brian O'Neill sent to demand hostages from the Cinel-Connaill. The messengers fled the moment they had fulfilled their commission. For all reply, O'Donnell commanded his people to assemble, to place him on his bier, and to bear him forth at their head. And thus they met the enemy. The battle took place on the banks of the river Swilly, in Donegal. O'Donnell's army conquered. The hero's bier was laid down in the street of a little village at Connal, near Letterkenny, and there he died.
O'Neill again demanded hostages; but while the men deliberated what answer they should give, Donnell Oge returned from Scotland, and though he was but a youth of eighteen, he was elected chieftain. The same year the long-disused title of Monarch of Ireland was conferred on O'Neill by some of the Irish kings. After a conference at Caol Uisge, O'Neill and O'Connor turned their forces against the English, and a battle was fought near Downpatrick, where the Irish were defeated.[[332]] O'Neill was killed, with fifteen of the O'Kanes and many other chieftains, A.D. 1260. The English were commanded by the then Viceroy, Stephen Longespé, who was murdered soon after by his own people.
In the south the English suffered a severe reverse. The Geraldines were defeated by Connor O'Brien in Thomond, and again at Kilgarvan, near Kenmare, by Fineen MacCarthy. The Annals of Innisfallen give long details of this engagement, the sight of which is still pointed out by the country people. John FitzThomas, the founder of the Dominican Monastery at Tralee, was killed. The MacCarthys immediately proceeded to level all the castles which had been erected by the English; they were very numerous in that district. Soon after the hero of the fight was killed himself by the De Courcys.