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St. Mochta's House facts for kids

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St. Mochta's House
The Monk's House
Teach Naomh Mochta
Saint Mochta's 'House', an ancient church.jpg
St. Mochta's House is located in Ireland
St. Mochta's House
St. Mochta's House
Location in Ireland
53°57′12″N 6°32′43″W / 53.953412°N 6.545339°W / 53.953412; -6.545339
Location Priorstate, Louth, County Louth
Country Ireland
Denomination Church of Ireland
Previous denomination Pre-Reformation Catholic
Architecture
Functional status inactive
Heritage designation
Official name St. Mochta's House
Reference no. 312
Style Celtic Christianity
Years built c. 1150–1200
Specifications
Length 4.88 m (16.0 ft) (internal)
Width 2.82 m (9 ft 3 in) (internal)
Number of floors 2
Floor area 13.7 m2 (147 sq ft)
Materials stone
Administration
Diocese Armagh

St. Mochta's House is a medieval oratory and National Monument in County Louth, Ireland.

Location

St. Mochta's House is located to the northwest of Louth village.

History

Mochta (d. AD 535/543) was a disciple of Saint Patrick and established a monastery at Louth village c. 528. There are no physical remains from the early monastery. The ruined buildings at the site today are the 13th century church of St. Mary's Priory, Louth and the oratory called St Mochta's House, which is believed to date from the second half of the twelfth century, although some sources place it earlier, in the 9th–11th centuries.

There are many stone buildings in Ireland with the names of saints' houses, such as St. Columb's House, Kells, County Meath. Most of these buildings are said to contain the grave or relics of the titular saint. In the year 1242, according to the Annals of Connacht, "The Archbishop of Armagh and the canons abbots of Ireland held a great chapter to honour the Order in Louth when some of the relics which Mochta had assembled from Rome were raised." This suggests that Mochta brought back relics of other saints from Rome, but it's also possible that his own bones were added to them.

The surrounding wall was built in 1906 by Louth County Council, and conservation work was done in 1934 by the Office of Public Works.

Building

St. Mochta's House is a rectangular building with barrel-vaulted roof, and a chamber above reachable by an internal stair.

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