The Lost Seal of the Hospital of St. John of Nenagh

By WH Patterson - RSAI (1912, 46)

In the early 1900s an antiquarian named W.H. Patterson (from Belfast) purchased an ancient seal in Kingston-on-Thames in London.

It was made of silver and following some investigation it was thought to be of Irish origin. On it was the inscription "+ S HOSPITALIS IER NENAGH".

Patterson wrote a note about the seal in the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquarians Ireland (1912, 46) detailing that the inscription

"may be translated: "The seal of the Jerusalem Hospital at Nenagh," or " The seal of the Hospital of Jerusalem at Nenagh." The device in the central part shows two female figures ; the taller, I presume, is intended to represent the Virgin Mary, and the smaller one an angel holding a scroll, on which is inscribed "Ave Mari”.

In this note he appeals for any further information on its origins.

In 1936 Dermot Gleeson picks up the case, again appealing in the Royal Society of Antiquarians Journal (1936, 313) for any information on the whereabouts of this seal.

WH Patterson had passed away in the intervening period and there is no account of the location of the seal.

(He passed away on the 5th of Feb 1918.)

Patterson, Sir Robert Lloyd | Dictionary of Irish Biography

Gleeson writes again about the Priory of St John at Nenagh in the RSAI (1938, 207, 208) and the seal.

He gives a date of sometime between the founding of the Priory (circa 1200) and 1365 as when it would have been made.

He again appeals for any information on the where the seal might be stating that he has corresponded with Mr. Deans of the Curator of the Belfast Museum.

To my knowledge this amazing artefact was never found or catalogued since. Has anyone any further information on it?

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