FATHER ROGER NORMOYLE'S

MONUMENT

 

INAGH, A.D. 1642

 

In February, 1944, believing that ivy was an enemy of ancient monuments, we cut down the innocent guardian of Fr. Normoyle's name on the scene of his martyrdom. The ivy had covered only one third of the inscription stone: the value of its service may be judged by the extent to which nearly all trace of the lettering has been worn away on the stone where wind and weather had free play. For the past hundred years, no one suspected that the stone bore an inscription. Mr. T. J. Westropp visited Inagh thirty years ago and examined the vault with care; he never guessed that the ivy concealed the name of the priest who had erected the altar tomb, yet, with amazing accuracy, he dated the carved panel in the period between 1630 and 1640. His paper on Primitive Remains in Inagh and Killeimer contains the following passage (J.R.S.A.L, 1916, Part II of Vol. XLVI., p. 102):

 

“At Inagh hardly a trace of the Teampull dubh na hAigne or its companion church remains—not one stone of the foundation—but strange to say we can reconstruct the larger church with some certainty.... It had a double lighted east window, with trefoil heads and iron frames for the glass, dating about 1460 to 1480; there was also a plain chamfered doorway, probably in the south wall, and an altar tomb of about 1630 to 1640 (with the Crucifixion, St. John, and the Blessed Virgin, in high relief in the style of the O'Flanagan tomb at Kilnaboy) and now set in the O'Connell vault."

 

Scholars in the district, perhaps 150 years ago, had been able to decipher the inscription: the names of the friars who had been slain in Inagh by Cromwell's men are forgotten in local tradition, but Fr. Normoyle's name, in its Latin form, is remembered down to our own day. A parishioner told me, six years ago, that “a priest named Roger-us Hurumley had been hanged in Inagh graveyard by Charles Coote": he had the story from Liam Ban Cotter of Cloonanaha (born in 1853); and Liam, in turn, had that and other stories (e.g. that David Barry's dog kept guard over his master's dead body on the field of Aughrim) from a local scholar of the previous generation named O'Curry. But Liam Ban did not know of the inscription on the O'Connell vault, else he would have called attention to it in proof of his story: the ivy, therefore, has served its appointed purpose for at least a century, but in previous times, Fr. Normoyle's name, on the vault, preserved his memory among the people. The story of his martyrdom was handed down age to age, at least in scholarly circles, and with it the kindred stories that another priest and two, or perhaps three, friars, had likewise suffered death in Inagh during the Cromwellian period.1 This local knowledge was purely traditional; it not have been derived, at a later time, from Bruodinus or from any written source. Frost's History of Clare was not published until 1893 ; and the reference in that work to " Rogerius Ormilius " is found not in the section on Inagh parish but on page 47, under Kilreachtis, where it escapes notice.

 

Liam Ban Cotter used to say that Fr. Normoyle had been hanged in the centre of the graveyard and had been buried outside—and N.N.W. of—the boundary wall of the present cemetery. His story, if true, would imply that the Cromwellians had posted a garrison in Teampull dubh na hEinidhe; otherwise, according to the usage of the period, Fr. Roger's friends would have had no difficulty in procuring the remains for burial and laying them to rest, after the soldiers' departure, in the family grave within the Sanctuary. The final line of the inscription is therefore of great interest; if—as I think—the name "ROGERIVS," under "—RIBUS” of line 4, and in letters of smaller size, were added after Fr. Normoyle's own we have, in the final line, the record of his martyrdom, and the inference is that his body had been buried, with those of his parents, under the site of the O'Connell vault. Three of his successors, at the least, lie buried there, within the ancient Sanctuary. A few feet from the vault, towards the north, a headstone which faces in the manner proper to a priest's grave, bears the inscription (rudely carved but  quite legible) : " HERE LIES THE BODY OF I. S. WHO DIED THE t OF JUNE, 1749." Fr. John O'Hehir (d. A.D. 1800) lies buried in front c vault, a few feet to the right. Fr. Frank Curtin, P.P., would have been buried in the Mass House (now the parish hall) in A.D. 1841, but the Bishop and priests, on arrival for the obsequies, found the grave filled with water, and according local tradition " Thogadar soir ar an roilig e, agus cuireadar ibhfocair an Sheaghain e (they took him east to the graveyard and buried him with Fr. Jc i.e. in Fr. John O'Hehir's grave). I do not count it a mere accident that a little ivy tree grew in the ancient Sanctuary of “the Black Church of the Ivy" and kept guard over Fr. Roger Normoyle's name, down the years, on the scene of his martyrdom.

 

 The Book of Survey and Distribution has record that the townland of Cloag' in Ballyea, Inagh, was owned, in 1641, by a man named Philip MacEnormoyle, English version of the Gaelic “Mac An Urmhlaigh." We have proof, therefore that the Normoyle family dwelt in Inagh at the period of Fr. Roger's pastorate; their descendants resided in Ballyea fifty years ago, but the name has now disappeared from the parish registers.

 

• Vide Moiva, 1942, " Inagh etc.," pp 33,36. 43'45.

                It matters little which of the customary formulas was used in the inscription; we can guess its purport: “Fr. Roger MacEnormoyle erected this monument in memory of. . . and of his father, whose bodies rest within," or perhaps,” who were noted for their virtue and good works." I have spent hours, nevertheless, in the effort to trace almost invisible letters on the part of the stone which is worn so smooth that the existence of an inscription has never been suspected for the past century. I believe that Fr. Normoyle had inscribed his father's name, and possibly his mother's name, on the monument: that would have been the usual procedure. Above all, it would be worthwhile, if possible, to decipher the final line, with its mysterious symbols. I append some notes on the available data in each line; an expert may be able to shed further light on the subject. Thanks to the ivy we know at least the essential facts: the inscription—which proves that Fr. Normoyle was pastor of Inagh in 1649—confirms Bruodinus' testimony:

 

" Rogerius Ormilius, honestis in Tuomonia ortus parentibus, sacerdos fuie saecularis, et per triginta circiter annos parochus, seu pastor optimus, paroeciat loci de Brentire. Hic, jam sexagenario maior, praevalente per Tuomoniam potestate tenebrarum Cromwellistis data, in Haereticorum incidit manus, quorum tyrannide, sine ullo juris processu, statim ac se sacaerdotem esse confessus est, suspendio vitam consecutus est beatam, die 12 Octobris, 1652.

Eodem anno, die, et loco, eodemque mortis genre, Pater Hugo Carrigi, Tuomoniensis sacerdos et pastor dignissimus, anno aetatis 76, et sacerdotii 44, martyrii palmam meruit consequi " (Propugnaculum, p. 714)-

FREE TRANSLATION

"Roger MacEnormoyle, a secular priest of respectable parentage in Thomond, and over sixty years of age, had been for some thirty years parish priest—a most devoted pastor—in the district of Breintire. There, when the powers of darkness which were vested in the Cromwellians became supreme in Thomond, he fell into the hands of heretics, and having confessed that he was a priest he was cruelly hanged by them, without process of law, on the 12th of October, 1652, and thus merited a happy eternity. On the same day, in that year, and in that same place, and by a like manner of death, Fr. Hugh Carrighy, a priest of Thomond and a most worthy pastor, won the crown of martyrdom in the 76th year of his age, and the 44th year of his priesthood."

People still speak of" Hugh's grave," in Kylea (which they take to mean "Hugh's church") about a mile west of Inagh.

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The inscription began close to the very edge of the stone, and so close to the upper edge that the tops of the letters, on the first line, are slightly worn away. It is certain that the stone, as it now stands, contained the whole inscription. The O'Connells had no need to cut off portion at either end when they set it in the vault; it is placed in the centre of the wall, and could have extended more than a foot further in either direction, without inconvenience to the builders.

 

                I take Westropp's term, "an altar tomb," to mean that the stone and the carved panel were set in the front of the altar; if so—since an altar is only 3' 6" high- the inscription stone must have rested on the floor of the predella. For that reason, among others, I believe that the original inscription ended on line 4, with the words " DEO LAUS," in order to leave some space between it and the floor. The memorial does not imply that Fr. Normoyle had placed his parents' remains in the altar; he may have laid them to rest nearby, and in due time he employed a highly skilled artist to carve the Crucifixion on a panel of the altar in their honour. I count it unlikely the O'Connells would have taken a carved panel from one of the walls of the church (which were then intact), but they might well have used stones of the broken altar in erecting the vault.

 

LINE 2

The letter "M," which is distinct, signifies "Monumentum."  The name “ROGERIVS” is almost invisible, yet the letters may be traced with some approach to certainty. The next words, to the best of my belief, are "FILIVS ROBERTI NORMOILEI"; the letters shown in the diagram are fairly clear. I thought at first, that the Christian name was " ROGERII," but the letter between "0" and "E" seems to be a “B," rather than " G," and the second last letter is, I think, “T.”

 

LINE 2

                The surname “NORMOILEI” (in which the final “I " is most distinct) is in the genitive case: it corresponds with the genitive form of the Christian name (after " FILIVS," in line 1), and also with the genitive after “Mac" in Gaelic, "Mac an Urmhlaigh."  The word "EREXIT" is sufficiently clear for certainty; the letters "ERE" are distinct, and there is faint trace of the “X" and of the top line of the "T." We should expect "IN MEMORIAM" after " EREXIT”; the "0", shown on the diagram, is in the correct position, and is fairly distinct, but the words "IN MEMORIAM ... MATRIS" leave a space of eight inches (3o"-38") in which there are faint traces of letters. The final word, on the 38"-“46 ½” space, seems to be "MATRIS"; parts of the letters "A," "T," and "R," and the letter "S," are visible in strong sunlight. I suspect that Fr. Normoyle may have used the letter "M" to signify "Memoriam" in this line (as he had, to signify "Monumentum" in line 1); if so, the second letter of the next word is "0,” and the word, if it could be deciphered, would give us his mother's name. I have reason to think that all the available letter-spaces were filled on this line.

 

LINE 3

At a guess I should say that the words which follow "ET PATRIS SVI" are "QUIESCENTIBUS INFRA CORPORIBUS," the terminal  "~RIBVS”  being carried down to line 4.  I thought, or perhaps only imagined, that I could discern faint trace of “~ENTIBVS” ("Quiescentibus, Requiescentibus,” or "Jacentibus") just beyond the 24" line on the stone. The "0," at the end is distinct, and so far as I can judge the previous letters seem to be "CORP."

 

LINE 4

                There is faint trace of a word—which seems to be "ROGERIVS"—under "~RIBVS," in the space before the date, as shown on the diagram. The letters were not carved in such relief as were those overhead; it would seem that they had been fitted into the space, under "~RIBVS," at a later time. I had not expected to find the word "ROGERIVS"; if my reading is correct we have choice of either of two inferences: (a) that "Rogerius" was the sculptor who had carved the memorial; or, (b) that some other person had inscribed the name to signify that the final line of the inscription (also added later) recorded Fr. Roger's own death, and the manner of his execution.

                I take the date to be "1649" (not "1642," as I had supposed in the first instance; the  "6" and the " 9," except that one is an inversion of the other, are carved in exactly similar style, with the line strongly sloped, as shown in the diagram.

                I had supposed that the prayer, after the date, would be "REQUIESCANT IN PACE" (which, however, could not easily have been fitted into the line in letters of the size), therefore I am not aided by fancy in concluding that the actual words are "DEO LAVS." The inscription on the O'Flanagan tomb in Killinaboy —which is similar in style to the Inagh tomb—ends with the prayer "Laus Deo." This is a further reason for thinking that the inscription on the stone in Inagh ended, originally, on line 4, with the prayer "DEO LAYS."

 

LINE 5

                The Cross and the Heart, beneath it, are quite distinct; the lines before and after the Cross are not so clear. I took those before the Cross to represent an "M" (i.e. "Martyr ") ; but now I begin to suspect that the sculptor had carved an ornamental border on this line in the first instance, and later—after Fr. Normoyle's own death—had inscribed the Cross and the following words over the carved border.

                The large "S," after the Cross is distinct, and the final "S" is fairly distinct. The other letters shown on the diagram, "E," "0," "C," are less clear, yet the traces suffice to warrant a fair guess as to their identity. I have a decided impression-which I may be able to verify when the sun shines on the stone from the western angle—that the letter before the "E" is "P": there is also vague trace of an "S” midway between the "C" and the final "S"; if so, the word, almost certainly, is "CAESVS" ("Put to death"), and the first word is "SVSPENDIO ("on the gallows ").

 

                At times scarce any trace of letters can be discerned on the right half of the stone; the rains of centuries, too, have played deceptive little pranks on their own account.  A stranger, at a casual glance, would say that this reconstruction is only a flight of fancy; yet on study of the stone, inch by inch, under different angles of sunlight, I believe that the inferences which I have drawn are fairly warranted. I do not quite despair of arriving at a final solution of the problem; but for the present this is my best attempt to read the epitaph: "Fr. Rogerius, son of Robert Normoyle, erected this monument in memory of. . . his mother, and of his father, whose bodies rest beneath, 1649. To God be praise"; with the addendum, “Rogerius .. ? …+ ?

Svspendio caesus (slain on the gallows)."

 

PATRICK GAYNOR, P.P.

Feast of St. Margaret (June 10th), 1944.

Kilnamona, Co. Clare.

 

 

 

 

ALTAR TOMB, A.D. 1649, IN INAGH, CO. CLARE

(afterwards set in the O'Connell vault)

 

Fr. Roger Normoyle (Rogerius Ormilius), Pastor of Inagh for thirty years, was hanged, in A.D. 1652, at the age of sixty, by Cromwellian soldiers in Inagh cemetery: he had erected this monument in memory of his parents in A.D. 1649. An ivy tree which grew against the front wall of the vault has saved part of the inscription from being erased; only faint traces of the lettering may be discerned on the stone where it was exposed to the western gales.

I have to leave the carved panel--a fine piece of work—to the reader's imagination. I am unable to sketch more than the bare outlines of the figures. The sculptor cut deeply into the stone, leaving a ledge, half an inch high, around the panel; then he cut still more deeply and made the figures stand out in bold relief. The features, and even the hands, were carved with care and skill; they are now almost worn away.

For the benefit of readers who may find interest in supplying the missing words I give a diagram of the stone. On the average, two letters occupy three inches. Occasionally, it would seem, the sculptor could not spare a space between the words (e.g., on line 2), but he did not deny to any letter the space which it needed for artistic perfection. The letters were carved in relief; for that reason it is almost impossible to trace them when they are worn down to the level of the stone.