GIFTED Killarney photographer Valerie O’Sullivan has captured a collection of spectacular images of the famous Glenstal Abbey monks to feature between the covers of a stunning new book.
The everyday lives of the monks in Murroe, Co Limerick have been laid bare to the scrutiny of the world beyond the normally secretive monastery walls.
From avid beekeepers to skillful bookbinders, the monks tell their stories with never before seen pictures shot behind the enclosed walls of the monastery.
One of the most striking chapters is that of artist turned monk Br Emmaus whose larger than life nude paintings adorn the monastery’s library wall. Br Emmaus says he renders the human figure naked “to follow the naked Christ”.
Other revelations are the priceless icons locked away in the vault-like icon chapel under the monastery, some dating back to the 15th century. There are also silver chalices made by the monks themselves, a copper tabernacle covered in enamel and rock crystal.
The terraced gardens featured date to the late 17th century where the orchard grass is kept short by the sheep while the woods surrounding the monastery have been planted since the 1800’s with several giant redwoods from America towering over the monastic settlement.
And keeping a watchful perhaps bemused eye on it all is Fr Placid, the oldest ordained monk in the world, who escaped from German occupied Rome, through Vichy France to Portugal, where he got a flying boat home to Glenstal.
* Glenstal Abbey: Through the Seasons, published by Columba Books, is a collection of images chronicled through the seasons by photographer Valerie O’Sullivan, and monks sharing in words, the mysticism and rhythm of their lives, offering a rare insight into the daily life of the community of Benedictine monks.
Pictures: Valerie O’Sullivan. Click on individual images for details
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