Church

The National Monuments Service's description

On a slight rise on a gentle S-facing slope, within the N half of an enclosed graveyard (CL009-059024-). Indicated and labelled ‘Noughaval Church (in ruins)’ on the 1842 and 1920 eds. of the OS 6-inch map. Possibly founded as early as the 10th/11th century and dedicated to St Mogua, this church may be a ‘New Chapel’ mentioned in Papal tax records of 1302 (Westropp 1909, 25-6). By 1615 it was in ruins (Swinfen 1992, 100).
The church (ext. dims. 29.2m E-W; 8.4m N-S), rectangular in plan, is constructed of cyclopean masonry (wall Wth 0.85-0.95m) and comprises a nave (int. dims. c. 14m E–W; 6.6m N–S) and chancel (int. dims. 8.63m E–W; 6.6m N–S). The N, E and S walls are partly covered by ivy but they survive virtually intact to their original height (H of S wall 5m). The W gable, ‘a few feet’ of which were still standing in 1839, according to the OS Letters (Comber 1997, 61), and the W ends of the N and S walls are no longer extant. However, the mound of rubble in this area probably includes original masonry from this section of the church. The round-headed chancel arch (Wth 3.15m; D 0.87m) and the tall round-headed window in the E gable, together with the blocked-up round-headed window in the S wall of the chancel are part of the original church. The chancel arch is ‘plain but finely built’ (Westropp 1909, 25) and rounded mouldings decorate the imposts and jambs of the two windows (Gilmore 2009, 46). The head of the E window was carved from a single stone. Externally a 19th-century memorial to the O’Dea family has been set into the lower part of it. The blocked-up window in the S wall was subsequently flanked on either side by a smaller round-headed window to the E and a tall one to the W. The square-headed doorway (Wth 1.1m; H 1.68m), at the W end of the S wall of the nave, may be a late 12th-century insertion (Westropp 1900-1902, 133; 1909, 25; Jones 2004, 131; Gilmore 2009, 46). A short drawbar-hole is visible in its W jamb and there is a notch for a latch in the E jamb. A pointed tympanum above the doorway bears short bars that appear to be a variation of the chevron motif found on Romanesque churches. Two wide rectangular windows to the E of the doorway may have been inserted as late as the 17th century (Westropp 1909, 25). Traces of mullions indicate that the W window (Wth 0.75m) comprised two lights and the E one (Wth 1.15m) had three lights. In the interior of the church, under the E gable window, a rubble mound is described in the OS Letters as a broken altar (Comber 1997, 61). Recesses in the upper inner face of the N wall may have supported roof beams. Fragments of window jambs and some dressed stone are visible within the graveyard where the following features are also visible: the remains of a possible round tower (CL009-059121-) c. 7.5m to the WNW, a leacht (CL009-059120-) and cross (CL009-059028-) c. 11m to the S, and a later church (CL009-059027-) c. 7.5m to the SSE. Outside the graveyard there is a market cross (CL009-059025-) c. 35m to the NW and a holy well (CL009-059026-) c. 85m to the E. A settlement cluster (CL009-167----) lies c. 40m to the S. A modern church, dedicated to Saint Mochua, lies c. 25m to the WNW. (Westropp 1896-98, 544)

The following images have been uploaded:
CL009-059023-_01.jpg View of doorway from S
CL009-059023-_02.jpg S wall from S
CL009-059023-_03.jpg S wall from SE
CL009-059023-_04.jpg Chancel arch from W (Westropp 1900-1902, Pl. VIII)

Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Conn Herriott

Date of upload: 30 March 2022

References

Westropp, T.J. 1896-1898 The distribution of “cromlechs” in the county of Clare. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 4, 542-9.

Westropp T.J. 1909 Notes on the antiquities around Kilfenora and Lehinch, Co. Clare, Part 1. North Munster Antiquarian Journal 1, 14-29.

Gilmore, H. 2009 Noughaval Church. The Other Clare 33, 46-7.

Westropp, T.J. 1897 Prehistoric stone forts of northern Clare, part III. Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries 27, 116-27.

Comber, M. (ed.) 1997 The antiquities of County Clare: John O’Donovan and Eugene Curry: Ordnance Survey Letters 1839. Clasp Press. Ennis.

Westropp, T.J. 1900-02 The churches of Co. Clare and the origin of the ecclesiastical divisions in that county. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Series 3, vol. 6, 100-180.

Large, S. 2011 A church and graveyard survey in County Clare. Database and photographic record. Clare County Council. Clare Heritage Forum. The Heritage Council.

Swinfen, A. 1992 Forgotten stones: Ancient church sites of the Burren and environs. Dublin. Lilliput Press.

Jones, C. 2004 The Burren and the Aran Islands: exploring the archaeology. Collins Press. Cork.