St. Laurence o’Toole
Laurence 0’Toole
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November 14 th
Mullaghcreelan between Castledermot and
Kilkea
1128
Murtagh O’Toole, chieftain of the
southern half of present Co. Kildare, an
area then called Hy Murray.
Dervail O’Byrne, daughter of a local
chieftain.
8 children, one daughter and seven sons.
Laurence was youngest son.
Mor, his sister married Dermot Mac Murrough,
King of Leinster.
Dermot Mac Murrough
Dermot Mac Murrough was famous because he
invited the Normans such as Strongbow to Ireland in
1169.
Dermot was a large, violent, cruel, war loving man
hated by strangers and feared by his own people.
Laurence’s Young Days
• Maurice O’ Toole was not on friendly terms
with Donagh O’Connor, chieftain of Offaly.
• To ensure both families got on well
together, baby Laurence was sent to live
with Donagh O’Connor and his family.
• This was an old Irish custom.
• It was known as Fosterage.
Laurence as a Hostage
• Laurence was 10 in 1138.
• His father, as only a local chieftain, had to obey Dermot
Mac Murrough, King of Leinster.
• Dermot demanded a hostage from him.
• Maurice gave him his son Laurence as a hostage.
• For a time Laurence lived in Dermot’s castle, until the
day his father refused to obey an order from Dermot.
• Then Laurence was forced to live in a dilapidated, leaky
hut on only enough bread, greens and water to keep him
alive for 2 years.
The Rescue
• Laurence was 12 in 1140.
• The Bishop of Glendalough helped Dermot and
Laurence’s father to come to an agreement.
• Dermot agreed to exchange Laurence for 12 of
his own soldiers who had been captured by
Laurence’s father Maurice O’Toole.
• The exchange took place in Glendalough
Monastery in Co. Wicklow.
• St. Kevin founded this monastery centuries
earlier.
Laurence Abbot of Glendalough
• Maurice was so delighted to have Laurence back, he
agreed to send one of his sons there to be educated.
• Laurence agreed to go to school in Glendalough.
• He later became a monk there.
• In 1158 he was elected Abbot of Glendalough by the
monks.
• This meant he was in charge of the monastery.
• During a famine in that part of Wicklow, he fed the
hungry who were starving.
• In the monastery, he had to run a school, orphanage and
hospital.
Laurence Archbishop of Dublin
• In 1162 he was appointed Archbishop of Dublin.
• He oversaw the building of many churches, most
importantly Christ Church Cathedral,
• He never ate meat and fasted every Friday on
bread and water.
• Every day he fed 30 people at his table.
• Sometimes he had over 300 orphans to look
after.
• He was a peacemaker, he tried to arrange
peace between Irish, Vikings and Normans in
Dublin.
The Normans
• Remember Dermot Mc Murrough King of
Leinster had asked Henry the Second King of
England and Normandy (part of France) to send
Normans like Strongbow to Ireland.
• Dermot wanted Henry to help him fight his great
enemy Rory O’Connor High King of Ireland.
• He promised Strongbow his daughter Aoife in
marriage and he would become King of Leinster
when he died,
The Normans attack
Dublin
• In 1170 Dermot and Normans led by Strongbow
attacked Dublin.
• Despite the presence nearby of the High King of
Ireland Rory O’Connor with an army of 30,000
men, Dublin was captured by the Normans.
• Laurence rallied the people in vain to resist the
Normans.
• He pleaded with the Normans to have pity on the
people of Dublin.
• Despite his efforts, 700 men, women and
children were slaughtered.
The Irish attempt to recapture
Dublin
• Rory O’Connor High King of Ireland joins forces with
other Irish chieftains and attacks the Normans in Dublin.
• Laurence O’Toole is said to have organised this.
• The Normans in Dublin sent him to negotiate peace with
Rory.
• Rory with his large army was in no mood to negotiate.
• Alas 600 Normans launched a surprise attack on the
Irish and drove his pooly armed soldiers into headlong
flight.
• Strongbow and the Normans kept control of Dublin.
• Rory O’Connor was the last Ard Ri na hEireann High
King of Ireland.
The Good of His People
• Laurence saw that the Normans could not
be defeated.
• When Henry the 2nd came to Dublin in
1171 Laurence accepted him as his
overlord.
• On Christmas Day 1171 Henry attended
mass in Christ Church Cathedral.
Visit to Canterbury in England
• In 1175 he went to Canterbury to meet Henry.
• As he was offering mass in Canterbury, a maniac, who had heard of
his piety (holiness), wanted to make a martyr of St Laurence.
• He smashed him in the head with a heavy stick.
• Everyone present concluded he was dead.
• But he came around a short while later and asked for a bowl of
water which he blessed and asked that his wounds be washed with
it.
• The blood stopped immediately and he got up and said mass.
• When he died 5 years later in France, the fracture was to be seen in
his neck.
Visit to Rome
• In 1179 St. Laurence and six other Irish
bishops went to Rome.
• He met Pope Alexander the 3rd.
• He gave the Pope an account of the state
of affairs in Ireland.
• The Pope appointed him Papal Legate in
Ireland.
His Final Days
• In 1180 Laurence went to England to see Henry.
• Rory O’Conor the last High King of Ireland, asked him to settle a
dispute between him and Henry 2nd.
• Henry refused to meet him and took himself off to Normandy in
France.
• For three weeks Laurence waited in England for Henry to return, but
in vain.
• Laurance decided to follow him to France.
• In France he contracted faver.
• He kept travelling until he came to the Abbey of Eu.
• Here after three days, he died on Friday 14th Noverber.
• He was just 52.
• Laurance was buried at Eu.
Celebrations in Castledermot 1980
• In 1980 we celebrated the 800th anniversary of
the death of Saint Laurence O’Toole.
• To commemorate the occasion a lectures on the
life of the saint and the history of the parish was
given by Father Kennedy, historian.
• A granite boulder has been erected at
Mullaghcreen and eight trees were planted
there.
• A group of people from Eu visited Castldermot.
Reminders of Laurence in
Castldermot
• A panel in the rose window in the Church
of the Assumption, Castledermot
• A stained glass window in Kilkea Church
which also commorates the saint.
• Levitstown Church is dedicated to Saint
Laurence.
South Kildare (Hy-Murray) after
Laurence’s Death.
• Strongbow granted the territory of HyMurray to Walter de Riddlesford, on of his
knights,
• Strongbow, perhaps, condidered he had a
right to this district.
• His wife Aoife was grand-daughter of
O’Toole, and niece of St. Laurence
O’Toole,