Dominican friar launches series of videos about history and heritage of Kilkenny

Conor McDonough is a Dominican friar responsible for the YouTube channel of the Irish Dominicans.

Over the past few weeks, he was in Kilkenny exploring the Christian heritage of the county as part of a new 'Treasure Ireland' series.

So far, Conor and his team have posted videos on topics including St Kenny's Well, the sculptures of Jerpoint Abbey, Kells Priory, the poems of Bishop Ledrede, the Black Abbey, and more!

His final Kilkenny video was posted last week and focuses on the moving story of John Clyn, a Franciscan annalist who recorded the arrival of the Black Death in Kilkenny, and succumbed to the disease himself.

What’s impressive about the videos is not just the standard of production, but also the depth of research conducted and use of primary sources and illustrations.

Although the videos focus on various aspects of Christianity, the videos can be enjoyed by all, and reveal a lot about life in Kilkenny through the centuries.

According to Conor, filming in Kilkenny was special due to all the history ‘that you can reach out and touch’.

“Kilkenny is really special to us as Dominicans because of the Black Abbey, the only mediaeval Dominican church that we still have,” he said.

“The Black Abbey site in Kilkenny was originally chosen because it was situated between the Anglo-Normans and native Irish, and acted as a bridge between the two peoples.

“You can learn so much about the history of the Dominicans here in Kilkenny via the Black Abbey and that makes it very special to us.”

Conor said that when he was filming the videos, he received a lot of help from various people across the city and county.

“We were blessed, for example, that we were able to reach out to the Dean of St Canice’s Cathedral who really helped us out.”

Conor also thanked the Medieval Mile Museum for giving him permission to go in and film there so that he could show a document that shows the Bishop of Ossory giving a grant of water from St Kenny’s Well to the Black Abbey.

“Interestingly, in relation to that document, the Bishop stated that the width of the pipe had to be no larger than the width of the ring on his finger,” he said.

You’d be surprised to learn, given the production quality of the videos, that they’re essentially all produced by a two-man team.

“The team we have is myself and a man called Patrick Grant who is employed by the Dominicans full-time in making media so he films and edits all our videos,” Conor said.

To Conor, the video series ‘is not just about telling pious stories’ but to produce ‘good history and good heritage stories that anybody could enjoy’.

“If people have faith it’ll be all the more meaningful but it’s certainly not a prerequisite and that was very important to me,” he said.

Conor also said that he was slightly taken aback by how many people in Kilkenny are connected to their heritage and historical/religious customs.

“There’s a real continuity in Kilkenny. For example, speaking of St Kenny’s Well again, it’s still being used consistently by the local community.

“We met one man who was filling up a bucket of water for himself and another man who said that his dog refuses to drink any other water, that it has to be from the well.”

When asked about how he balances his vocation with producing his online video series, Conor acknowledged that ‘it’s challenging’ but stated that it’s ‘important that these stories continue to be told’ through all means available.

The friars would appreciate that if people find the videos interesting that they share them with their friends, family and/or anybody who might be interested.

“If people are interested in using them in school history or religion classes, that’d be amazing,” he said.

When asked if there is any more Kilkenny content planned, Conor hinted that something big lies on the horizon.

“2025 will be the 800th anniversary of the Black Abbey in Kilkenny so we’re really looking forward to doing something special for that when the time comes,” he said.

If you want to see all of the videos, CLICK HERE.