St. Berehert of Tullylease

by V. Rev. Robert Forde, P.E.

At the Synod of Whitby, in northern England, held in 664 A.D., the majority of those present voted to accept the Roman system for deciding the date of Easter. St. Colman, Abbott-Bishop of Lindisfarne with others disagreed and decided to return to Ireland where they established two monasteries, one for the English monks in Mayo and an island monastery for the Irish monks.
Tradition tells us that a young Saxon Prince from Winchester left the group, travelled across Ireland and came to Tullylease, which was then a stronghold of Druidism. Despite firm opposition he established a large monastery which lasted for over 700 years - he was named Berehert.
In the Annals of the Four Masters the death of Berichter is recorded 'Berichter of Tullach-leis died on 6 December, 839.' If this entry is accurate, the monastery founded by Berehert, almost 150 years before, was well established, and here we commemorate a later Abbot.

In 1230 we find the following entry in the Annals: 'A holy monk, chief Master of Carpenters in Tullach-leis died today'. This entry is important as it clearly shows the extent and the national reputation of the schools and workshops of Tullylease monastery.
The Monastery also excelled at metalwork. The beautiful cover of St. Patrick's Bell, now in the National Museum, was decorated by a family of Noonans, who were closely associated with Tullylease.

The Berechtuine Stone

The Monastery had large stone-carving workshops. Many of these stones are still extant. The most famous is the Berechtuine Stone, incised with a Greek cross, expertly carved and ornamented, with inscriptions in Latin and Greek. The Greek text reads : 'XPS' which is the abbreviation for Christus or Christ. The other corner of the stone is missing and probably contained the Greek letters for Jesus.' IHS'

The Latin inscription translates: 'Whoever reads this inscription, let him pray for Berechtuine." For many years, it was accepted that Berechtuine was another name for Berehert and this beautiful monument was erected to honour the Founder. A long article by Professor Henderson of Cambridge and Professor Okasha of University College, Cork on the carved stones of Tullylease showed conclusively that they were two separate people. Therefore, we honour two saints in Tullylease !
This Berechtuine Stone is dated about 800 A.D. The extant monastic buildings that we see today date from about 1200 to 1500

About 1200, the Monastery took the 'Rule of The Canons Regular of St. Augustine' and in 1415, Henry IV annexed the Monastery to the Priory of Kells in Kilkenny.

From Tullylease, at least five other churches were founded in Munster, and probably a foundation in Leinster and one in Connaught.
In 1993, the historian Dr. Daphne Pochin Mould took an aerial photo of the site in mid-December, on a clear frosty evening. A large portion of the 'massive external enclosure bank of the early monastic site' showed clearly on photo. It is now possible to trace the external original boundaries of the monastery.

The people of Tullylease are very proud of the Monastery. They take great care of it, and they are most grateful that Bishop Magee chose the Tullylease as a special place of Pilgrimage for Jubilee 2000.