Reading Saint Luke’s Gospel in Advent 2019: Luke 14

‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many’ … (Luke 14: 16) … waiting for dinner in Rethymnon in Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

During the Season of Advent this year, I am joining many people in reading a chapter from Saint Luke’s Gospel each morning. In all, there are 24 chapters in Saint Luke’s Gospel, so this means being able to read through the full Gospel, reaching the last chapter on Christmas Eve [24 December 2019].

Why not join me as I read through Saint Luke’s Gospel each morning this Advent?

Luke 14 (NRSVA):

1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. 2 Just then, in front of him, there was a man who had dropsy. 3 And Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees, ‘Is it lawful to cure people on the sabbath, or not?’ 4 But they were silent. So Jesus took him and healed him, and sent him away. 5 Then he said to them, ‘If one of you has a child or an ox that has fallen into a well, will you not immediately pull it out on a sabbath day?’ 6 And they could not reply to this.

7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honour, he told them a parable. 8 ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honour, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host; 9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, “Give this person your place”, and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, “Friend, move up higher”; then you will be honoured in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. 11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.’

12 He said also to the one who had invited him, ‘When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’

15 One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, ‘Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ 16 Then Jesus said to him, ‘Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. 17 At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, “Come; for everything is ready now.” 18 But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, “I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my apologies.” 19 Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my apologies.” 20 Another said, “I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.” 21 So the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, “Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.” 22 And the slave said, “Sir, what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.” 23 Then the master said to the slave, “Go out into the roads and lanes, and compel people to come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, none of those who were invited will taste my dinner”.’

25 Now large crowds were travelling with him; and he turned and said to them, 26 ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” 31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. 33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.

34 ‘Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure heap; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’

A prayer for today:

A prayer today (Saint John of the Cross) from the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG, United Society Partners in the Gospel:

Let us give thanks for the spiritual insights of mystic and poets such as Saint John of the Cross.

Tomorrow: Luke 15.

Yesterday: Luke 13.

‘Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?’ … (Luke 14: 34) … bags of salt tablets outside the Ice House Hotel in Ballina, Co Mayo (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

Can conservation efforts save the ruined church at Castletown Conyers?

The church ruins in the graveyard at Castletown Conyers are all that survive of the mediaeval parish church of Corcomohide (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Patrick Comerford

I was at a funeral earlier this week in Castletown Conyers, 5 km south of Ballingarry, on the road from Rathkeale to Charleville.

The church ruins in the graveyard at Castletown Conyers are all that survive of the mediaeval parish church of Corcomohide. But the history of this unique mediaeval settlement is being uncovered slowly and revealed as part of an effort to preserve the remains of the building known locally as ‘the Abbey.’

‘The Abbey’ was, in fact, a parish church, and with a neighbouring motte and a castle or manor house it formed the centre of a mediaeval borough of up to 300 people that dates back to the 13th century.

The church ruins at Castletown Conyers seen from the south-west (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Castletown or Corcomhide was the ancestral or tribal area of the Mac Eniry family, and was known as Baile Caisleáin Mhic an Oighre or the town of Mac Eniry’s castle. The Mac Eniry remained a force in this area until the late 17th century.

Castletown became the site of a mediaeval borough, with a church, a motte, and a castle or manor house. The manor of Corkemoyd was granted by Maurice FitzMaurice to his son-in-law Thomas de Clare and his wife Juliana, who in turn granted the church, in 1276, to the Cathedral of Limerick.

Inside The church ruins at Castletown Conyers, looking east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The manor was holding a weekly market by 1284, but it was destroyed by war in 1302, and the early church was destroyed that year too.

An inquisition of 1321 suggested that about 290 people were living there. Lewis suggests the Castle at Castletown was built by the chieftain of the Mac Eniry family in 1349, and says the Mac Eniry family founded an abbey.br />
There are a number of references to the castle during the 14th century, when it was held by the de Cliffords, amongst others.

The later church, built in the late 14th or early 15th century, was dedicated to the Purification of the Virgin Mary on 2 February 1402 or 1410.

The east end of the church ruins at Castletown Conyers, shrouded in cladding (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

After the Reformation, the church served for some time as a Church of Ireland parish church and some alterations to the church were made in the 16th century.

The Book of Survey and Distribution in the 1660s referred to the area as Castleinenry.

Castletown Conyers acquired its present name when the estate was bought by Captain George Conyers in 1703, although Lewis said the parish of Castletown Conyers was granted to George Conyers by William III.

The church ruins at Castletown Conyers from the north-east (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

There are some early 18th century headstones in the churchyard, the earliest marking the grave of Cornelius Ryan, who died in 1737 at the age of 34.

There is a still a reference in 1763 to ‘Castletown McEnyry.’

The Conyers vault was inserted in the west end of the church in the late 18th or early 19th century (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The Conyers vault was inserted in the west end of the church in the late 18th or early 19th century, although it is likely that the church was a ruin at this point.

Samuel Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland in 1837, noted that Corcomohide was an ecclesiastical union, including the civil parishes of Castletown Conyers, Drumcolloher, and Kilmeedy, and had 10,742 inhabitants.

The tithes totalled to £900, of which £570 was payable to the Countess of Ormonde, as lessee under the Vicars Choral of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, and £330 to the incumbent.

There were two public schools, supported by Mr Stevelly and Colonel White, and 12 private schools.

The church was certainly a ruin by the time of the first Ordnance Survey in the 1830s and 1840s (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

The church was certainly a ruin by the time of the first Ordnance Survey in the 1830s and 1840s, there was neither glebe nor glebe house, and the vicarage was united with the vicarages of Kilmeedy and Dromcolloher.

In the mid-19th century, the Conyers estate was mainly in the Parish of Kilcolman, Barony of Shanid, but also in the Parish of Corcomohide, Barony of Connello Upper, Co Limerick.

Castletown Conyers, the seat of the Conyers family was the home of Charles Conyers (1758-1837) in the early 19th century, and he was succeeded by his son, the Revd Edward Fitzgerald Conyers (1787-1854). By the time of Griffith’s Valuation, the house was in use as an auxiliary workhouse, held by the Croom Guardians from Dr William Bailey, medical doctor, and valued at £25.

Members of the Conyers family still held considerable estates in the area in the 1870s, when Charles Conyers of Castletown Conyers owned 2,425 acres, Grady FitzGerald Conyers of Liskennet owned 1,023 acres and Edward Conyers of Liskennet owned 95 acres.

The Revd Edward Fitzgerald Conyers (1787-1854) and his wife Catherine Blennerhassett were the parents of the Revd Charles Conyers, who died in 1872. He was married twice – to Agnes Graham, and Margaret Drew. Castletown Conyers was the residence of Charles Conyers in 1894.

The remains of the piscina can be traced at the east end of the south wall (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Major Charles Conyers (1867-1915) of the Royal Munster Fusiliers was wounded at the Battle of Ypres in 1915 and is buried at Bradhoek Military Cemetery in Belgium. There is a memorial tablet with his name in Limerick Cathedral. The family Conyers family appears to have continued to live at Castletown Conyers until the 1920s.

Major Conyers had married Dorothea Blood-Smith (1869-1947) of Fedamore, Co Limerick, in Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick, on 2 February 1892. She was the author of 54 novels and one autobiographical work of sporting reminiscences, published between 1900 and 1948.

The widowed Dorothea Conyers married Captain John Joseph White of Nantinan, Co Limerick, in University Church, Saint Stephen’s Green, Dublin, on 25 February 1917. When Captain White died at Nantinan on 14 April 1940, he was buried at Cappagh Church. Dorothea died on 26 May 1949 and was buried at Saint Mary’s Cathedral.

In places, the roots of trees and the ivy clinging to the walls appear to be the only things holding the fabric of the church together(Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

Today, trees are growing within the walls of the church, and in recent years a number of large stones have fallen from a height. Indeed, in places, the roots of trees and the ivy clinging to the walls appear to be the only things holding the fabric of the church together.

The archaeologist Sarah McCutcheon, who has carried out some investigations on the site, has told Norma Prendiville of the Limerick Leader that the work to stabilise the building would need to be done in several phases.

The first phase involves cutting back the trees and then drilling and treating the boles and roots. Later phases would involve repairing the cavities left by the roots, removing other vegetation, consolidating the south-east corner and north wall chancel and capping the walls. Some work on clearing the trees and ivy has been carried out under the direction of Ms McCutcheon and the north wall has been propped up.

The conservation works on the church ruins have been promoted by the Castletown Conyers Development Association and Limerick City and County Council.

An opening at the east end of the north wall (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)

A nearby holy well, known locally as Lady’s Well, is still visited regularly, and large numbers of people attend an annual Mass at the well on 15 August.

Another well, Saint Gobnait’s Well, also known as Saint Debora’s Well or Saint Deriola’s Well, was the venue for an annual pattern on 11 February, but this came to an end around 1870. The site of this well was in a high field, north of Ballagran to the left of the road to Castletown, and has long dried up.

A surviving lancet window in the south wall (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2019)