Duleek

Duleek takes its name from the Irish word daimh liag, meaning house of stones and referring to an early stone-built church, St Cianán's Church, the ruins of which are still visible in Duleek today.

Duleek began as an early Christian monastic settlement. Saint Patrick established a bishopric here about 450 AD, which he placed in the care of Saint Cianán on 24 November 489. The place was sacked several times by the Norsemen between 830 and 1149 and was also pillaged by the Normans in 1171. In April 1014 the bodies of Brian Ború and his son lay in state in Duleek on their way to Armagh. The original monastery settlement is reputed to be the place where Saint Patrick and several contemporaries spent the winter period while compiling the Seanchas Mór - the first written compiled form of the ancient Brehon Laws of Ireland in the fifth century. The 12th century saw the reconstitution of the original monastery as Saint Mary's Abbey and the subsumption of the Diocese of Duleek by the Diocese of Meath.

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