Taghmon, Wexford, Ireland was the home of our Donnelly ancestors. We have only traced them to the 1700's but Taghmon was established long before then.
Taghmon is a very ancient parish some miles west of Wexford. It was founded in the year 597 AD. This makes it one of the oldest places of uninterrupted human habitation in Ireland. The sites of the Church of Ireland, the Monichaun Field, and the Castle represent ancient beginnings of Taghmon village.
In the year 597, Taghmon was quite different than today. The Irish language was spoken everywhere in Wexford and the place that we now know as Taghmon was called "Achad Liathdrom". This can be loosely translated as 'the grey field on the ridge'. The area was ruled by a chieftain named Dimma Mac Hugh. In 597, the monk named Fintan came and asked Dimma to grant him some land to build a monastery. This the chieftain did and Fintan, with a few of his followers, built his monastery in 599 in the area that is now known as 'the Monichaun'. Fintan marked out the site by four crosses made of timber. A university was later added, which at its peak catered for up to 230 students. Among the subjects taught were Scriptures, Astronomy, Languages, and Mathematics. The school developed a wide reputation and the sons of chieftains and princes attended as well as many from England and Continental Europe.
The place became known as Teach Munna, 'the House of Munna', which was later shortened to Taghmon. Finton laboured for over thirty years in Taghmon. He was there for twenty-four years when he contracted leprosy. This disease was relatively common in Ireland in the medieval period. Fintan died on 21 October 636 A.D. The monastery died out sometime towards the end of the 12th century partly as a result of the Viking raids.
Taghmon is a very ancient parish some miles west of Wexford. It was founded in the year 597 AD. This makes it one of the oldest places of uninterrupted human habitation in Ireland. The sites of the Church of Ireland, the Monichaun Field, and the Castle represent ancient beginnings of Taghmon village.
In the year 597, Taghmon was quite different than today. The Irish language was spoken everywhere in Wexford and the place that we now know as Taghmon was called "Achad Liathdrom". This can be loosely translated as 'the grey field on the ridge'. The area was ruled by a chieftain named Dimma Mac Hugh. In 597, the monk named Fintan came and asked Dimma to grant him some land to build a monastery. This the chieftain did and Fintan, with a few of his followers, built his monastery in 599 in the area that is now known as 'the Monichaun'. Fintan marked out the site by four crosses made of timber. A university was later added, which at its peak catered for up to 230 students. Among the subjects taught were Scriptures, Astronomy, Languages, and Mathematics. The school developed a wide reputation and the sons of chieftains and princes attended as well as many from England and Continental Europe.
The place became known as Teach Munna, 'the House of Munna', which was later shortened to Taghmon. Finton laboured for over thirty years in Taghmon. He was there for twenty-four years when he contracted leprosy. This disease was relatively common in Ireland in the medieval period. Fintan died on 21 October 636 A.D. The monastery died out sometime towards the end of the 12th century partly as a result of the Viking raids.
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