School: Edenderry (St Mary's Convent)
- Location:
- Edenderry, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: Sr M. Laserian
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0801, Page 129
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- XML “Clonearl”
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- Clonearl is a wooded district where a family named Mac Gunn dwelt and had possession of the district. These were protestants and very much against the Catholic Religion. In the penal times when priests were hunted and Mass forbidden this family to show their bigotry, had a mock-priest saying Mass for them. This man, when pretending to say Mass wore paper vestments.
One night while this mock-mass was going on one of the candles fell and set fire to the paper vestments. One of the family, an Army Officer took up, what he thought was a jug of water, and threw it on the mock priest but to his astonishment it turned it turned out to be whiskey. He was burned to death that night.
Shortly afterwards the mansion itself was burned to the ground. This ended the career of the Mac Gunn's of Clonearl.
The ruins of their mansion are still to be seen.(continues on next page)
