placenamesStrade
An tSráid
A medieval friary and the birthplace and burial place of Michael Davitt connect Strade with religious patronage and land reform.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An tSráid · Irish · main form · validated name
- Strade · English · main form
Place & story
A change of religious order
Strade’s friary began as a Franciscan foundation in the middle of the thirteenth century, established by Jordan de Exeter, lord of Athlethan. Dominican friars took over in 1253. The surviving church also preserves evidence of later development: the Office of Public Works identifies a period of expansion during the fifteenth century. [2]
Carved religious imagery
Sculpture gives the ruined church a particularly detailed record of its religious imagery. A Pietà appears on the ornamental screen behind the altar. The canopy tomb carries carvings of Christ, the Magi, Saints Peter and Paul, and patrons of the friary. These surviving figures form part of the decoration highlighted in the Office of Public Works account of the monument. [2]
Michael Davitt’s birthplace
Michael Davitt was born at Straide on 25 March 1846. His parents, Martin Davitt and Catherine Kielty, were tenants on the Knox estate. Following eviction, the family emigrated to Lancashire, joining others from the Straide area. Davitt subsequently became a leading land reform campaigner and a secretary of the National Land League established in 1879. His grave at Straide maintains a direct connection between his national political career and his birthplace. [3] [4]
A chapel becomes a museum
The nineteenth-century chapel attached to the friary now houses the Michael Davitt Museum. Its collections include letters, photographs, postcards, Land Acts and other documents associated with Davitt. The former religious building and the neighbouring medieval remains thus provide the setting for a collection concerned with a much later struggle over land ownership and tenants’ rights. [2] [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Mayo
- Barony
- Gallen
- Civil parish
- Templemore
- Coordinates
- 53.91690, -9.14158 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1414670 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Strade. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Strade Dominican Friary · Office of Public Works
- The life of Michael Davitt · Michael Davitt Museum
- Michael Davitt Museum: collections and setting · Michael Davitt Museum
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.