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Killeavy - CiII Sleibhe in Irish means the Church of the Mountain. The Church referred to was originally founded by St. Moninna in the sixth century. She had founded her first convent at Faughart but after leaving this in charge of St. Orbilia she retired to the foot of Slieve Guillon.
Remaining now are ruins
of two churches, a western church and an eastern church. The western doorway,
with immensely trimmed stones closely joined with a single slab forming the
lintel, probably came from the ninth century. On the northern side of the
cemetery there is a very large granite stone measuring seven feet long, five
feet wide and about one and a half feet thick. This stone covers the supposed
grave of St. Moninna - who died in the year 518 and here in days when the
Pattern (which was the anniversary of the day on which a church had been
dedicated to a saint) was celebrated, prayers were said at this spot and the
pilgrim continued to her Holy Well further up the mountain, returning to this
gravestone for the final prayer. The Pattern Day of St. Moninna was 6th July,
but with the coming of persecution to the Catholic faith, these religious
ceremonies were banned by law. The Pattern was revived in the year 1928 and
seems to have survived until
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