Sunday 19 November 2017

St. Lua's Oratory


I found this great drawing from 1791 of St. Lua's Oratory which was located on an island on the River Shannon just outside Ballina in North Tipp. The island was drowned when the Ardnacrusha Hyrdo Electric Power plant was built and the level of the water raised. The Oratory was removed stone by stone and reerected in the yard of the RC Church in Killaloe.
For some foklore on St. Lua see the following
"Long ago there lived on an Island in the vicinity of Killaloe a saint named... Lua or Molua. It was from this Saint that the town and the diocese got their names. The Cathedral however is called after St Flannan.
There are few places in Ireland of more historical interest, combined with unrivalled scenery, than that to which St. Lua gave his name. One of the most ancient monasteries on the Shannon was that built by Molua in the sixth century and this and the monastery called Iniscalthra, founded by Caimin, are situated amidst scenic beauty. Both had their saintly homes destroyed by the Viking invader. What was left of the former (St. Lua's) had been removed and re-erected, and now lies alongside the Catholic Church at Killaloe, to save its being submerged by the rising waters of the Shannon in consequence of the hydro-electrical scheme. At the beginning of the eleventh century a brother of Brian Boru was Abbot of Inis calthra.
On the Island where Saint Lua's oratory stood there was a holy well and people used to visit it especially on Lady's Day on teh 15th August. Many cures were obtained by doing rounds there and reciting prayers. There is a street in Killaloe called Saint Lua Street after the saint."

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