The ruins of Inch Mór on Lough Gowna stand as a silent reminder of one of the oldest centres of Christian worship in the North Longford region. nnTradition tells us that St Colmcille was born at Gartan, Co Donegal on Thursday 7 December 521 AD. In the year 544 AD he was ordained a priest at St Finian’s Monastery in Clonard, Co Meath. In all he founded 100 monasteries in Ireland and Scotland. After the Battle of Culgrevny in the year 563 AD, where thousands of the High King’s men were slain in an ambush, St Colmcille was forced into exile at the age of 42 never to return.  The next Abbot was St Boodan, who died in 596 AD. The Abbot in the year 800 AD was M’Laisre, also known as “The Excellent”, because of his sanctity. In the year 804 AD the monastery was burned and looted by the Danes. For 50 years it was deserted, but in the year 860 AD, when Toicluch was the Lord Abbot, he restored the buildings. For several centuries the monastery served the people as a place of worship and a sanctuary for the sick and destitute. The monks lived a very hard life of work, prayer and fasting and Inch Mór was the original of the modern parishes of Colmcille, Purth and Mullinalaghta. In the twelfth century, the Abbot adopted Augustinian Rules and so continued until the dissolution by Henry VIII in 1543. In that year Bishop O’Farrell sought refuge there, having been expelled from Abbeylara. Later in the year the monks of Inch Mór were also forced to flee the monastery that had been their island home and place of worship for close on 1000 years. It is now the tradition to celebrate the Saint’s death with Mass on the island in remembrance of St Colmcille, when he died peacefully in his bed in Iona Abbey on Whit Sunday at noon, 9th June in the year 597 AD, surrounded by his faithful monks. In 1950 the land on the island was divided and the graveyard was enclosed by stone from the old monastery. As a result of the division of the land on the Island, the ruins of the old Abbey were greatly reduced. In 1986/87 the re-erection of one of the original cut stone windows took place, thanks to money from the European Community. It had been blown over in a storm and was buried in the ground. It stands on the east side of the old monastery facing the rising sun.

The Tower Bell of Inchmore

This is a cast bronze bell of early form, probably made in Italy or France in the 15th century. An inscription in Latin near the base has been partially deciphered: the word magister refers either to God or to a ‘master’ bell-founder. The bell is said to have belonged to the monastery of Inchmore in Lough Gowna, an ancient site associated with St Colum Cille and later an Augustinian house. Early tower bells are a rarity in Ireland and this is among the oldest known. It is believed the bell was used to call the monks to prayer. Having been hidden for many years, it was recovered from the lake and hung in Dunbeggan (Aughnacliffe) about 1840. It remained the only bell there until the great renovation of 1932 when the present bell was installed.